Division  SS?  4  ZO 
Section  .(3"*^  i  T 


LIFE  OF  JESUS 


AND 


HIS  APOSTLES 


REV;  W.  B.  QODBEY, 

Author   of  Holiness,  or  Hell,   Jesus  is    Ooming^   Sancti- 

fication,     Christian    Perfection,   New    Testament 

Commentaries,    Etc. 


PENTECOSTAL  PUB.  CO., 
Louisville,  Ky. 


Copyrighted  hjr 
Pentecostal  Publishing  Ca 
1904 


CONTENTS: 


PAGE. 

Abbreviations 5 

Prologue   "^ 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  Pre-Natal  Savior  17 

CHAPTER  11. 
The  Infant  Jesus 21 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Man  Jesus 35 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Ministry  of  Jesus 44 

CHAPTER  Y. 
Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee 51 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Jesus  Preaches  Among  the  Gentiles 1«^7 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Transfiguration   , ICiO 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem  . . , 180 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea 304 

3 


CHAPTER  X. 
Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale  . . .  242 

CHAPTER  XL 
Faeewell  to  the  Temple 264: 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet 283 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer 307 

CHAPTER.  XVI. 
Descension  Into  Hades 394 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Resurrection , 402 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Ascension  Into  Heaven 425 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
The  Apostles , 432 


ABBREVIATIONS. 

B.  C— Before  Christ.    A.  D.— After  Christ. 

0.  T.— Old  Testament.    I^.  T.— New  Testament. 

]^^.  B.— Take  Notice.    D.  V.— God  Willing. 

E.  V. — English  Aversion.     E.  V. — Eevised  Yersiono 

Gr. — Greek,    e.  g. — For  example,    i.  e. — That  is. 

V. — Verse,     ch. — Chapter. 


PROLOaUE. 

Eph.  1  and  Col.  1,  reveal  the  Second  person  of  the 
Trinity  as  the  Creator  of  "all  things  visible  and  invisi- 
ble," while  Heb.  1  sets  Him  forth  as  the  Creator  of  the 
ages  (E.  y.,  words).  Hence  we  see  that  the  Divinity 
executes  the  work  of  creation  in  the  second  person. 
The  above,  with  many  other  scriptures,  reveals  the  co- 
eternity  of  the  Son  with  the  Father.  In  all  our  medi- 
tations and  apprehensions  of  the  Divinity  we  must  steer 
clear  of  the  tritheistic  heresy ;  i.  e.,  separating  too  widely 
between  the  persons  of  the  God-head,  thus  digressing 
into  the  idea  of  three  Gods  instead  of  one.  While  the 
Son,  our  Savior,  has  existed  from  the  beginning,  having 
tossed  millions  of  worlds  from  his  creative  fingers,  mean- 
while the  "morning  stars  sang  together,  and  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy,"  and  the  redemption  of  this  fallen 
world  with  its  inhabitants  was  a  stupendous  reality  in 
the  divine  mind  from  all  eternity,  and  really  efficient 
from  the  fall  and  the  days  of  Abel;  deep  and  unfath- 
omable reasons  for  the  postponement  of  the  Divine  incli- 
nation, the  grand,  salient  ostensible  fact  of  the  redemp- 
tive scheme  supervened  through  the  rolling  centuries.  A 
mention  of  the  more  prominent  will  be  edifying  to  the 
readers. 

1.  The  trend  of  fallen  humanity  to  go  away  from 
God  into  the  labyrinthine  entanglements  of  polytheistic 
idolatry  became  prominent  from  the  mournful  exodus 
oat  of  Eden;  the  fratricidal  came,  leading  the  way  into 
the  worship  of  the  sun,  which  is  manifest  in  the  blood- 

7 


8  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

less  offering  of  fruits  and  flowers.  Baal,  the  snn-god. 
thus  led  the  wa}^,  being  worshiped  in  Egypt  under  the 
name  of  Osiris,  and  the  moon  under  the  name  of  Isus; 
and  as  Ashtaroth,  of  Phenecia,  also  called  the  queen 
of  Heaven.  In  the  Bible,  Baalbec,  on  the  plain  of  Baca, 
between  the  great  mountains,Lebanon  and  Anti-lebanon, 
has  been  the  wonder  of  the  world  in  all  ages.  This  day. 
the  oriental  traveler  halts  bewildered  and  spellbound 
as  he  contemplates  the  mighty  works  of  Baalbec,  which 
beggar  and  throw  into  eclipse  all  the  boasted  achieve- 
ments of  modern  arts  and  science,  there  being  no  me- 
chanical power  on  the  earth  to-day  competent  to  erect 
the  Temples  of  Sun  and  Jupiter  and  the  gigantic  walls 
of  the  citadel  protecting  them,  with  their  golden  images 
and  accumulated  treasure,  from  the  continental  armies 
from  the  east  and  sea  pirates  from  the  west. 

Tradition  corroborates  the  Bible  in  the  identifica- 
tion of  this  stupendous  superstructure  with  the  city 
built  by  Cain  in  the  Land  of  N'od,  as  the  antideluvian 
outliving  us  ten  times,  were  in  all  probability 
ten  times  our  superior  in  physical  strength,  al- 
so utilizing  the  mastodon,  an  animal  about  ten 
times  as  large  as  the  elephant,  which  abounded  before 
the  flood,  but  never  lived  afterward.  The  constant 
trend  of  Israel  to  depart  from  Jehovah,  the  unseen  G-od, 
and  go  after  the  wonderful  display  of  pomp  and  pagean- 
try which  characterize  Baal,  is  obvious  when  we  remem- 
ber that  Baalbec,  the  Capital  and  Metropolis  of  this,  the 
most  popular  divinity  ever  worshiped  by  the  children 
of  men,  was  right  there  within  the  territory  given  by 
Jehovah  to  Israel,  but  never  subdued  and  occupied.  Be- 
sides, the  priests  of  Baal  had  the  glowing  sun  with  his 


Prologue.  9 

unutterable  splendor,  beauty  and  glory,  rolling  his  fiery 
chariot  from  Aurora  to  Hesperus  every  day,  adorning 
the  landscape  with  fadeless  flowers  and  burdening  the 
field  with  delicious  fruits.  ^Yhen  we  consider  the  over- 
whelming predilection  of  fallen  humanity  for  idolatry,, 
and  how  exceedingly  difiicult  for  the  great  Jehovah  to 
retain  even  a  little  handful  of  people  on  the  earth  so  true 
to  Him  that  he  could  make  them  the  custodians  of  the 
heavenly  oracles  and  the  progenitors  of  the  world's 
Savior,  we  see  the  pertinency  of  letting  pagan  polytheism 
have  the  field,  do  her  best  and  run  her  race,  in  the  final 
exhibiting  to  the  world  in  her  deserted  temples  and  smol- 
dering ruins,  her  utter  incompetency  to  satisfy  the  long- 
ings of  her  immortal  soul  or  to  solve  the  problem  of  hu- 
man origin,  character  and  destiny.  All  this  actually 
took  place.  Baal,  Ashtaroth,  Dagon,  Moloch,  Jupiter. 
Apollo,  Tenus,  Minerva,  and  many  other  gods  had  the 
world  without  a  rival  four  thousand  years,  and  signal 
failure,  confusion,  and  dissatisfaction  everywhere  pro- 
claimed their  mournful  defeat — ^had  utter  incompetency 
to  elevate  the  living  and  comfort  the  dying.  Such  was 
the  universal  dissatisfaction  among  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  that  expectation  had  actually  supervened  in 
every  nation,  a  general  outlook  and  anticipation  that 
the  Author  of  the  universe  would,  in  mercy,  send  a  De- 
liverer into  the  world  to  reveal  his  truth  and  righteous- 
ness. ^\Tien  Israel  were  all  carried  into  captivity,  it 
seemed  that  the  last  hope  of  truth  and  redemption  had 
gone  down  in  the  gloom  of  eternal  night.  But  even  this 
apparent  calamity  wrought  such  a  reaction  on  Israel  as 
not  only  to  satisfy  them,  but  to  even  disgust  them  with 
polytheistic  idolatry,  so  tihey  never  again  allowed  their 


10  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

lifelong  predilection  to  run  -after  it,  but  remained  true 
to  the  law  and  the  prophets  ever  after  the  return  from 
Babylonian  captivity. 

2.  WTiile  human  learning  is  not  to  be  rejected,  but 
universally  appreciated  when  sanctified  by  the  grace  of 
God ,  yet  it  is  not  only  useless  but  injurious  and  a  swift 
vehicle  of  damnation  without  that  grace.  In  every  age 
of  the  world  it  has  beguiled  its  votaries  with  pride,  and 
arrayed  them  against  the  Almighty.  This  day  it  is 
God's  greatest  enemy  on  the  earth,  rapidly  filling  the 
world  with  infidelity,  sending  millions  to  perdition  and 
expediting  the  great  tribulation.  Hence  it  was  really 
pertinent  that  human  learning  should  have  clean  sweep 
over  the  world,  run  its  race,  reach  its  culmination  and 
fall  into  dilapidation  before  the  incarnation  of  God's  Son 
upon  the  earth. 

All  this  had  actually  taken  place.  The  Greek  phi- 
losophers had  climbed  the  dizzy^  heights  of  Parnassus  and» 
drunk  to  full  satiety  from  the  Pyerian  fountain.  Hon- 
ored were  the  educators  of  all  the  princes  of  the  earth 
who  resorted  to  them  from  every  land,  to  learn  wisdom 
at  their  feet.  ^N'ot  only  heathen  oracles,  but  the  na- 
tions of  the  globe  awarded  to  them  the  undisputed  palm 
of  wisdom.  Yet,  far  from  satisfying  their  patrons  and 
pupils,  they  never  could  satisfy  themselves.  Having 
soared  on  the  eloquence  of  opinions  and  reveled  in  the 
sublimities  of  poetry  and  romance,  living  in  the  pro- 
f oundest  depths  of  philosophy  and  metaphysics ,  the  sim- 
ple practical  questions  ?  who  am  I  ?  whence  came  I  ?  and 
what  is  my  destiny?  beggared  all  their  boasted  wisdom 
and  impoverished  all  their  powers  of  solution. 
Therefore     disgusted    with      themselves     and    unsat- 


Prologue.  11 

isfied  with  their  thirty  thousand  gods,  amid 
their  magnificent  array  of  temples  and  statues, 
they  wore  so  suspicious  that  there  might  be  a  God 
somewhere  in  the  universe,  with  whom  they  had  no 
acquaintance  that  they  actually  erected  to  him  a  beau- 
tiful marble  shrine  in  the  metropolis^  on  which  they 
superscribed,  ^^to  the  unknown  God/'  Consequently 
when  Paul  met  the  grave  assembly  of  philosophers  on 
the  Areopagus,  he  opened  his  sermon  by  pronouncing 
them  "very  religious,"  (not  too  superstitious)  as,  E.  V. 
he  reminds  them  of  the  temple  they  had  built  to  the 
unknown  God,  assuring  them  that  he  is  acquainted  with 
Him,  and  proceeds  to  tell  them  about  Him.  Thus  hu- 
man learning,  without  a  rival  in  all  the  world,  had  gone 
to  the  acme,  signally  failed  to  solve  the  grand  problem 
of  human  immortality,  origin  and  destiny,  was  actually 
on  the  wane,  when  the  glorious  solution  of  all  problems 
burst  upon  the  world. 

3.  The  Language  Problem.  From  the  confusion  of 
tongues  at  the  tower  of  Babel,  the  world  had  been  filled 
with  a  countless  medley  of  dialects,  shibboleths  and 
idiocisms,  so  the  person  passing  along  the  insignificant 
boundary  of  his  own  tribe,  found  himself  at  once  con- 
founded with  an  unknown  tongue.  This  state  of  things 
was  an  impassable  barrier  to  'the  speedy  evangelization 
of  the  world.  It  was  not  only  indispensable  that  the  na- 
tions be  reached  by  a  common  language,but  pre-eminent- 
ly essential  was  the  writing  of  the  Divine  oracles,  char- 
acteristic of  the  gospel  dispensation  in  the  very  best  pos- 
sible revelation,  at  once  pre-eminent  in  brevity,  vivacity, 
flexibility,  copiousness,  communicativeness  and  the  iron 
grip  of  a  stubborn  and  stalwart  mechanism,  which  would 


13  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

forever  doom  all  attempts  to  perversion,  and  misinter- 
pretation, this  glorious  vehicle  of  gospel  wisdom  and 
grace,  God  in  His  merciful  presence,  gave  the  world  in 
the  beautiful,  inimitable  Greek  language.  While  all  na- 
tions in  the  absence  of  the  written  word  were  wrapped  in 
darkness  and  groveling  in  superstition,  we  see  a  paradox 
in  all  history,  i.  e.,  the  Greeks  with  no  better  opportunity 
than  the  other  nations,  bid  the  world  adieu  and  rise  to 
the  top  of  civilization,  in  poetry,  oratory,  philosophy 
and  the  fine  arts,  eclipsing  all  their  contemporaries,  and 
sitting  down  upon  thrones  of  wisdom  and  culture,  pat- 
ronized by  the  princes  of  the  earth,  seeking  erudition, 
light  and  knowledge  at  their  feet.  The  result  of  their 
wonderful  achievements,  in  every  ramification  of  human 
lore,  was  the  manufacture  of  the  finest  language  that 
ever  rang  in  mortal  ears.  We  are  delighted  with  our 
noble  English,  wdth  its  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
words ;  yet  it  would  have  been  a  great  misfortune  if  the 
scriptures  had  been  written  in  our  language  or  any  other 
modern  tongue,  as  they  have  no  mechanical  grammar, 
and  are  loosely  thrown  together  at  the  option  of  the 
writer.  The  Greek  language  is  as  mechanical  as  a  pipe 
organ,  which  will  only  make  music  when  every  piece  is 
in  its  place.  A  necessary  corollary  of  this  lingual  ad- 
justment of  the  world  to  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
was  the  conquest  of  all  nations  by  the  Greeks,  the  trans- 
mission of  every  government  under  heaven  into  their 
hands  and  thereby  the  establishment  of  their  language  in 
every  court  beneath  the  skies.  But  how  can  this  be, 
when,  at  that  time,  Persia  ruled  all  the  world,  her  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  provinces,  extending  from 
India  to  Ethiopia,  with  a  single  exception  of  the  Greeks. 


'prologue.  13 

who,  though  invaded  with  an  army  of  two  million  five 
hundred  thousand,  led  by  Xerxes  in  person,  she  had  sig- 
nally failed  to  conquer?     In  the  solution  of  this  prob- 
lem, we  behold  a  series  of  unrecorded  miracles.     The 
youthful  Alexander  of  twenty-one  years,  with  an  army  of 
thirty-five  thousand  dares  to  invade  the  Persian  empire; 
meets  the  ro3'=al  army  on  the  battlefield  Granicus,  slays 
four  thousand  and  loses  not  a  man.     Then  he  meets  an 
innumerable  one  on  the  plains  of  Issus.  A  terrible  battle 
is  fought.     One  hundred  thousand  Persian  soldiers  are 
left  dead  on  the  field;    Alexander's  loss  is  the  merest 
trifle.     The  whole  empire  is  dazed  and  appalled  by  Al- 
exander's victories.     Universal  preparations  were  made 
to   exterminate    from   the   empire   the   haughty    Greek. 
Dari\TS,  in  person,  heads  the  innumerable  host  gathered 
from  his  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  nations.     They 
overtake  and  attack  the  Greeks  on  the  plains  of  Arbela, 
The  battle  lasts  a  week.     Three  hundred  thousand  Per- 
sian soldiers  are  left  dead  on  the  field.     Among  them 
the  royalty  of  every  nation    have  fallen.     Darius,  the 
king  of  the  world,  seeing  the  utter  ruin  of  his  countless 
hosts  is  a'f ugitive  for  life.    Alexander  pursues  and  over- 
takes him  on  the  banks  of  the  Indian  Ocean.     He  now 
makes  overtures  to  the  triumphant  Greek,  proposing  to 
divide  the  world  between  them  and  each  rule  one-half. 
Alexander  points  up  to  the  sun  in  his  noon  day  glory, 
and  says,  "Do  you  see  that     sun?"     Darius     responds, 
"Yes."    Do  you  not  know  that  this  world  could  not  have 
two  suns  for  they  would  burn  it  up.    Xeither  can  it  have 
two  kings.  So  he  took  it  all,  thus  girdling  the  globe  with 
the  great  brazen  empire  of  Daniel's  prophecy.    While 
the  Alexandrian  conquest  established  the  Greek  in  the 


14  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

government  of  every  nation  under  heaven,  B.  C,  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five ;  in  one  year  this  universal  em- 
pire was  disturbed  by  the  death  of  the  conqueror,  disin- 
tegrated by  his  four  surviving  generals  into  the  king- 
doms of  Greece,  Egypt,  Syria,  and  Central  Asia,  so  it 
ceased  to  conserve  the  end  of  a  universal  empire  which 
was  so  absolutely  essential  to  the  universal  and  unob- 
structed propagation  of  the  Gospel. 

4.  A  Powerful  Military  Despotism.  Such  is  God's 
province  provided  in  mighty  Rome.  The  great  iron 
empire  of  prophecy  was  the  very  thing  needed  to  con- 
solidate the  immeasurable  nations,  tribes  and  principali- 
ties into  one  solid  and  invincible  government,  ruling  the 
world  with  a  rod  of  iron.  Without  this  preparation,  uni- 
versal evangelism  would  have  been  utterly  impossible 
as  the  gospel  heralds  would  have  been  arrested,  killed  or 
imprisoned  the  moment  they  crossed  the  national 
boundary,  thus  insuperably  disqualified  to  carry  the  gos- 
pel into  all  nations.  B.  C,  seven  hundred  and  fifty-three, 
the  infants  Eomulus  and  Eemus,  by  order  of  the  Alban 
king  were  exposed  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  to  be  de- 
voured by  wild  beasts;  a  wolf  finding  them,  and  sup- 
porting them  with  her  own  milk. 

Both  times  I  was  in  Rome  I  saw  the  historic  wolves 
and  the  cave  in  which  tradition  says  the  above  paradox 
took  place.  The  separate  boys  become  the  nucleus  of  a 
band,  which  soon  swells  into  a  tribe  and  rapidly  grows 
into  a  nation.  Thence  the  stratagem  by  which  the  Sa- 
bines  supplies  the  bachelor  nation  with  wives.  Mars 
the  war  God,  is  their  favorite,  consequently  war  is  their 
religion.  The  Temple  Janu,  whose  open  doors  were  the 
index  of  war  were  never  closed  but  three  times  in  their 


Prologue.  15 

liistory  of  a  thousand  years;  once  during  the  reign  of 
^uma  Pompilius;  again,  immediately  after  the  first 
Punic  war  and  finally  during  the  reign  of  Augustus 
Caesar.  Meanwhile,  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  so 
that  he  was  truly  the  herald  of  "peace  on  earth  and  good 
■will  to  men/^ 

This  universal  and  invincible  military  despotism  rul- 
ing the  whole  world  with  a  consolidated  government  was 
the  very  preparation  needed  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the 
end  of  the  earth.  IsTot  only  were  these  four  great  prep- 
arations necessary,  but  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  in 
some  way  the  attention  of  all  nations  was  directed  to 
the  outlook  for  Christ.  We  see  this  manifested  at 
Lystra. 


LIPB  OP  JESUS  AND  HIS  AFOSTLES. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PRE-NATAL  SAVIOR. 

The  redemptive  scheme  has  been  a  glorious  reality 
from  the  triune  council,  in  which  the  Son  of  God  vol- 
unteered to  redeem  the  race  and  veritably  became 
the  "Lamb  of  God  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world''  (Rev.  13  :8) .  John  1 :9  :  "He  was  the  true  light, 
which  lighteth  every  man,  coming  into  the  world."  This 
inspired  affirmation  of  John  the  Baptist  in  reference  to 
the  world's  Savior  shows  conclusively  that  every  human 
being  that  has  ever  existed  on  the  earth  from  Adam  to 
the  present  generation,  or  ever  will  till  the  latest  pos- 
terity shall  respond  to  the  archangel's  trumpet,  is  the 
recipient  of  the  true  light,  which  makes  the  pilgrim's 
road  to  glory  always  bright.  Therefore,  no  human  be- 
ing will  be  able  to  say  in  the  Judgment  Day,  "I  am  for- 
ever lost  because  I  did  not  know  the  way."  This  is  clear- 
ly corroborated  in  1  John  1 :7 :  "If  we  walk  in  the  light 
as  He  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  an- 
other, and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  His  Son  cleanses 
US  from  all  sin."  God  only  holds  us  for  the  light  which 
we  have,  hence  there  will  be  three  judgments  in  the 
Great  Day.  (Rom.  11:12-15.)  The  0.  T.  people  will 
be  judged  by  the  Old  Testament  only;  the  N.  T.  peo- 
ple, by  the  whole  Bible ;  while  the  heathen  millions  who 
have  had  no  Bible,  will  only  be  judged  by  the  light  of 

17 


18  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

nature,  their  own  conscience,  and  tlie  Holy  Gkost.    The 
popular  idea  that  the  heathen  millions  are  irretrievably 
and  indiscriminately  cast  into  hell  is  flatly  contradictive 
of  the  above  and  many  other  Scriptures.     Titus  11 :11 : 
"The  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  to  all  men 
hath  appeared/'     This  Scripture  positively  settles  the 
problem   and  irrefutably   authenticates  the   conclusion 
that  Christ,  who  is  this  grace,  actually  does  now,  always 
has,  and  always  will  bring  salvation  to  all  human  beings. 
Hence,  Adam's  ruined  race  is  indiscriminately  left  with 
the  shadow  of  an  apolog}^  for  making  their  bed  in  hell 
fire.     Doubtless  the  most  horrible  woe  of  the  damned, 
which  will  fill  hell  with  lugubrious  wails  and  gorgon 
horror  through  all  eternity  will  be  the  inextinguishable 
memories  of  golden  opportunities  contemned,  forfeited, 
and  eternally  fled.    The  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  the  Christ  of  the  New.    John  1 :21-25 ;  1  Cor.  10  :9-10. 
Here  we  see  that  according  to  John  and  Paul,  the  Jeho- 
vah of  Isaiah  and  Moses  is  the  Christ  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment.   The  Hebrew  word  Elohim,  means  God  Almighty, 
while  Jehovah  means  Christ.    It  is  a  significant  fact  that 
Christ  in  the  form  of  man  actually  visited  Abraham  in 
his  tent  at  Mamre,  and  ate  with  him  1,898  years  before 
He  was  born  in  Bethlehem.    During  both  of  my  journeys 
in  the  Holy  Land,  I  visited  that  hallowed  spot  where  my 
ex-camate  Lord  walked,  talked  and  ate  with  His  friend 
Abraham.     It  is  an  equally  significant  fact  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar saw  Him  in  the  fiery  furnace  with  Shadrach, 
l\Ieshach  and  Abednego  603  years  before  He  was  born  in 
Bethlehem.    Hence  we  see  that  the  real  Christ  has  been 
on  the  earth  in  all  ages,  dispensing  His  redeeming  grace 
to  all  humble,  appreciative  hearts. 


The  Pre-Natal  Savior.  19 

If  the  heathens  can  be  saved  without  our  ministra- 
tion of  the  Word,  then  why  should  we  carry  it  to  them  ? 
First.  Because  God  has  commanded  us  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  all  nations.  Therefore,  disobedience  on  our 
part  would  seriously  jeopardize  our  own  souls.  Second. 
To  say  the  least,  our  heavenly  estate  would  suffer  much 
depreciation  and  detriment.  Third.  While  there  is  a 
gracious  possibility  of  salvation  of  all  the  heathens,  with- 
out us,  tlie  probability  favors  the  conclusion  that  infin- 
itely more  would  be  saved  through  our  instrumentality. 
Fourth.  It  is  unquestionably  God's  plan  to  save  them 
through  our  instrumentality ;  yet  he  is  not  dependent  on 
us.  Do  not  understand  me  to  even  imply  that  a  soul  can 
be  saved  without  the  Gospel.  But  you  must  remember 
that  Christ  Himself  is  the  Gospel.  John  1.  You  see  plain- 
ly in  this  chapter  a  recognition  of  His  presence  on  the 
earth  from  the  beginning  is  a  specification  of  the  fact 
that  he  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us.  He  has  de- 
nominated the  Word,  from  the  fact  that  language  is-  the 
vehicle  of  revelation,  and  He  Himself  is  the  greatest 
revelation  ever  made  to  the  world.  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  (Acts  5:4-9),  and  He  has  always 
been  in  the  world,  "even  moving  on  the  face  of  the 
waters  in  creation''  (Gen.  1:2).  From  the  preceding 
Scriptures  we  see  the  indisputable  tangibility  of  the  con- 
clusion that  Christ  has  been  in  the  world  from  creation's 
dawn,  actually  bringing  salvation  to  fallen  Adam  and 
Eve,  the  antediluvian  myriads,  and  the  postdiluvian 
millions,  down  to  the  present  day.  Oh,  what  a  weep- 
ing and  wailing  in  judgment  day  because  none  of  the 
millions  doomed  and  lost  can  offer  a  solitary  apology 
for  the  etemiiy  of  woe  looking  them  in  the  face!     So 


20  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

complete  has  our  wonderful  Christ  wrought  the  stupen- 
dous work  of  redemption,  that  every  human  being,  from 
Cain  down  to  the  latest  posterity,  like  the  prodigal  son 
and  his  elder  brother,  has  actually  been  born  in  the 
kingdom  of  grace,  and  only  gets  out  by  personal  trans- 
gression. We  see  in  the  final  judgment  (Matt.  25:46) 
countless  multitudes  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Judge  receiving  the  happy  salutation  of  the  blessed  wel- 
come into  the  everlasting  "kingdom  prepared  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world.^'  You  see  by  their  responses 
that  they  had  not  known  Christ  personally  in  their 
earthly  lives;  but  had  manifested  His  love  for  their  con- 
temporaries, which  is  the  normal  fruit  of  that  saving 
faith,  which,  in  the  dim  lights  amid  ignorance  and  su- 
perstition, had  groped  its  way  through  and  touched  the 
spiritual  Savior.  Meanwhile  the .  unfortunate  millions 
on  the  left  are  only  condemned  for  their  failure  to  ex- 
hibit the  Divine  love  which  is  the  nature  of  God  (John 
1 :4),  thus  giving  confirmatory  truth  of  their  fatal  re- 
jection of  the  faith  and  obedience  inspired  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  one  class  exhibits  the  fruits  of  love,  and  the 
other  those  of  selfishness.  Our  wonderful,  unsearchable 
and  incomprehensible  Christ,  as  you  see  from  the  above 
Scriptures,  has  always  been  in  the  world,  omnipotent  to 
save,  and  actually  saving  all  who  let  Him.  The  untu- 
tored, in  his  primeval  wilds,  sees  Grod  in  the  clouds,  and 
hears  Him  in  the  winds; 

Whose  soul  proud  science  never  taught  to  stray ; 

For  as  the  solar  walk, — the  milky  way. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  IXEAXT   JESUS. 

The  antediluvian  dispensation  was  starlight.  The 
constellations  grew  brilliant  in  the  patriarchal  age.  The 
moon  arose  with  Moses,  moving  in  her  queenly  beauty 
and  majesty  over  the  starry  canopy.  Day  dawned  with 
John  the  Baptist,  and  the  sun  arose  with  Shiloh's  proph- 
ec}^,  the  Christ  of  God,  the  Eedeemer  of  Israel  and  the 
Savior  of  the  world,  and  culminated  in  his  noonday 
glory,  when  on  Mt.  Zion,  burst  with  splendors  of  t]:e 
fiery  baptisms  which  Jesus  told  them  He  would  pour 
on  them  from  Heaven,  gave  the  impetus  which  shook 
Heaven,  earth  and  Hell,  and  the  shaking  is  still  the 
sensation  of  the  world,  the  joy  cf  the  angels,  and  the 
panic  of  devils. 

Four  thousand  years  of  preparation  have  rolled  away. 
Pagan  pol3i;h€ism  has  dominated  the  world  without  a 
rival ;  done  its  best,  run  its  race,  and  is  on  a  universal 
decline,  a  recognized  failure  by  the  sages  of  every  land. 
Human  learning  has  lifted  up  its  haughty  head,  declared 
its  independence,  sought  creation  around  for  resources, 
has  actually  monopolized  the  world  with  its  resources, 
dazzled  the  gaze  of  all  nations  by  the  splendors  of  the 
poetr}^,  oratory,  philosophy  and  fine  arts  traduced  by  the 
master  spirits  of  the  ages.  Amid  all  these  gigantic 
achievements,  the  wisest  philosophers  have  become  dis- 
gusted with  their  signal  incompetency  to  satisfy  their 
current   maxim,   gnothe   seanton,  know  thyself;    thus 

21 


22  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

finding  themselves  utterly  incompetent  to  philosophize 
man  and  to  answer  the  practical  questions.  Who  am  I  ? 
Whence  came  I  ?  and  What  is  my  destiny  ?  Meanwhile^ 
the  conquests  of  Alexander  have  given  th3  world  the 
finest  language  ever  spoken  this  side  of  heaven — God's 
own  vehicle,  which  He  used,  the  Greek  philosophers^, 
poets  and  orators,  a  thousand  years  of  solid  toil,  to  fab- 
ricate, formulate  and  l)eautify.  Already  the  Eomans 
have  marched  their  conquering  armies  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  and  consolidated  every  nation  into  one  universal 
military  despotism,  sweeping  away  the  barriers  which 
for  ages  divided  up  the  world  by  race  lines,  color  lines, 
sect  lines,  and  government  lines.  Xot  only  is  the  world 
ready  for  the  most  important  event  in  her  history,  but 
all  nations,  for  reasons  wrapped  in  profound  mystery, 
are  really  on  the  lookout  for  the  Lord  to  appear. 

1.  The  Annunciation.  Luke  26:38.  I  have  been 
in  the  beautiful  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  standing 
on  the  spot  where  Mary  happened  to  be  when  the  Arch- 
angel Gabriel  appeared  to  her  announcing  the  startling 
tidings  of  the  impending  visitation  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  the  conception  of  her  Lord.  That  was  a  greater 
trial  for  the  virgin  than  you  are  likely  to  think,  as  in 
the  popular  view  it  would  expose  her  to  the  darkest 
scandal  and  endanger  her  condemnation  to  an  ignomini- 
ous death  by  the  law  of  Moses.  God  gave  her  grace  to  be 
true  through  the  risky  ordeal.  A  magnificent  monu- 
ment of  the  archangel  and  the  virgin  now  stands  in  this 
church,  which  is  visited  by  about  thirty  thousand  Chris- 
tian pilgrims  annually.  It  is  pertinent  as  we  go  along 
to  fortify  the  reader  against  heresies  current  among 
holiness  people,  and  used  so  adroitly  by  the  adversary 


The  Infant  Jesus.  23 

for  the  detriment  of  God's  true  people.  A  dangerous 
heresy  hinges  at  this  point,  even  daring  to  charge  our 
Lord  with  hereditary  depravity,  alleging  that  He  in- 
herited it  from  His  mother,  who  was  a  fallen  being  like 
-the  rest  of  us.  To  obviate  this  allegation.  Pope  Pius  IX. 
proclaimed  his  favorite  dogma  of  the  immaculate  con- 
ception. To  apply  this  to  Mary  is  simply  assuming  the 
point  in  dispute  without  proving  it.  There  never  was 
but  one  creation.  When  God  created  Adam  He  created 
the  race;  Eve  being  no  exception,  she  being  not  a  new 
creation,  but  a  transformation  from  Adam's  rib.  So 
when  Adam  sinned  and  fell,  the- whole  race  sinned  and 
fell.  Unfallen  Adam  had  no  posterity,  consequently 
every  human  being  is  fallen  and  depraved.  You  must 
remember  that  Christ  is  nowhere  called  the  son  of  Adam, 
but  always  denominated  Himself  "the  Son  of  Man."  In 
John  7 :44,  Jesus,  looking  the  leading  church  members 
in  the  face,  said :  "Ye  are  the  children  of  your  father, 
the  devil.''  God  created  man,  but  the  devil  created  sin, 
i.  e.,  the  carnal;  i.  e.,  Adam  the  First;  spiritual  life 
having  been  lost  by  the  fall  and  only  regained  in  regen- 
eration. Therefore  Christ  is  the  only  unfallen  Son  of 
humanity,  and  our  salvation  consists  in  our  translation 
out  of  Adam  the  First  into  Adam  the  Second.  N".  B. 
Jesus  had  no  human  father,  but  was  generated  by  the 
Holy  Ghost;  consequently  He  received  no  depravity. 
Eemember,  generation  is  by  the  male  parent,  and  gesta- 
tion by  the  female.  The  reason  why  the  human  race  arQ 
fallen  is  because  they  are  all  generated  in  Adam,  the 
progenitor  of  us  all,  as  the  oak  tree  was  created  and  all 
the  balance  have  developed  from  it.  So  this  rlepravity 
problem  in  its  application  to  our  Savior  utterly  evan- 


24  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

esces,  being  demonstratively  untenable,  as  He  had  no 
human  father,  and  generation  is  by  the  father  only,  and 
gestation  by  the  mother. 

2.  Birth  of  Jesus.  Though  Joseph  and  Mary  be- 
longed to  the  royal  family  of  David,  they  lived  at  Nazav 
reth,  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  down  in  Galilee.  In  the 
providence  of  God,  Augustus  Caesar,  the  Eoman  Em- 
peror, ordered  an  enrollment  of  all  the  people  prepara- 
tory to  a  general  taxation.  Consequently,  even  at  that 
apparently  inopportune  time,  they  were  compelled  to 
appear  at  Bethlehem,  the  birthplace  of  David,  eight 
miles  south  of  Jerusalem.  As  they  were  so  very  poor, 
the  most  comfortable  lodging  that  they  could  command 
was  a  cave  used  for  domestic  animals.  Meanwhile,  the 
shepherds  herding  flocks  on  the  plains  five  to  eight  miles 
east  of  Bethlehem,  are  surprised  by  the  visit  of  a  lovely 
angel,  sweeping  down  from  heaven,  the  splendor  of  his 
glory  pouring  a  sunburst  on  their  faces;  meanwhile 
a  roaring  proclamation  fills  the  plain  and  echoes  back 
from  the  surrounding  mountains:  "Fear  not,  for  be- 
hold I  proclaim  unto  you  good  news  of  great  joy,  which 
shall  be  unto  all  people;  because  this  day  a  Savior  is 
born  unto  you,  who  is  Christ  the  Lord,  in  the  city  of 
David.  And  this  shall  be  the  sign  to  you:  you  shall 
find  an  infant  wrapped  in  swadling  clothes  lying  in  a 
manger"  (Luke  11:10-12).  That  was  a  designation 
quite  sufficient  to  guarantee  certainty,  as  they  might 
search  the  whole  world  round,  and  they  would  not  find 
another  case  of  a  young  baby  lying  in  a  cow  manger. 
They  were  actually  too  poor  to  provide  Him  any  clothes. 
They  simply  gathered  up  some  old  pieces  and  wrapped 
them  around  Him.     The  popular  date,  December  25,  is 


The  Infant  Jesus.  25 

evidently  a  mistake,  as  that  is  mid-winter,  when  sheep 
do  not  graze  out,  but  lie  up  in  the  fold  during  the  night 
and  feed  during  the  day.  We  see  here  that  they  were 
out  herded  by  the  shepherds  and  grazing  at  night,  which 
corroborates  the  verdict  of  the  critics,  which  I  believe, 
locating  Christmas  April  5. 

No  sooner  has  the  angel  aroused  them  by  the  splen- 
dor flashing  from  his  radiant  countenance  and  snow- 
white  habiliments,  as  well  as  the  stentorian  proclama- 
tion of  his  trumpet  voice,  than  they  hear  the  melodies  of 
an  unnumbered  host  who  swept  down  from  heaven  to 
sing  their  happ}^  gaudeamus  over  the  manger  hallowed 
to  contain  the  world's  Eedeemer.  The  astounded, 
thrilled  and  electrified  disciples  immediately  leave  their 
flocks  and  walk  away  with  an  elastic  bound  to  Bethle- 
hem, and,  pursuant  to  the  direction  of  the  angel,  find 
the  infant  all  right,  salute  Mary  and  Joseph,  raise  an 
uproarious  shout  and  make  the  welkin  roar  as  they  re- 
turn to  look  after  their  flocks. 

God  has  been  pleased  to  inaugurate  the  different  dis- 
pensations by  certain  grand  and  significant  demonstra- 
tions. The  Law  dispensation  of  the  Father  rang  out 
from  Mount  Sinai,  amid  wreathing  smoke,  stentorian 
thunder,  forked  lightnings  and  earthquakes.  The  Son's 
dispensation,  as  we  here  see,  was  proclaimed  by  the  mel- 
odious anthems  and  loud  shouts  of  the  angels,  while 
that  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  characterized  by  the  roar  of 
the  tempest  and  tongues  of  fire.  N.  B. — Beware  of  the 
fanatics,  who  tell  you  that  sanctification  is  done  away 
with,  because  we  do  not  hear  the  roar  of  the  hurricane 
and  see  the  fiery  tongues.  As  well  might  they  invalidate 
justification,  because  the  angels  have  ceased  to  proclaim 


26  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

it  with  their  songs;  and  also  conversion,  because  Sinai 
no  longer  gives  us  thunder-bolts  and  earthquakes. 
These  brilliant  manifestations  only  symbolize  the  mighty 
works  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  heart. 

3.  Circumcision"  of  Jesus.  Luke  11:21.  Pur- 
suant to  the  law  (Gen.  17:12  and  Lev.  12:3),  on  the 
eighth  day  they  proceed  to  circumcise  the  baby.  The 
Jewish  dispensation  is  symbolic  throughout.  The  phys- 
ical birth  represents  regeneration,  and  circumcision 
sanctification ;  the  one  ushering  into  life,  and  the  other 
removing  impurity.  The  short  interval  of  eight  days 
illustrates  the  pertinency  of  seeking  sanctification  quick- 
ly after  conversion,  the  case  of  our  Savior  decisively  cor- 
roborating the  conclusion.  They  also  offered  a  sacrifice 
when  they  took  Him  into  Jerusalem  to  present  Him  to 
the  Lord,  according  to  the  law  (Lev.  12:2  and  Ex. 
13  :2).  They  generally  offered  a  bullock  or  a  lamb ;  but 
in  case  the  parties  were  very  poor,  they  were  allowed  to 
offer  a  pair  of  turtle  doves,  or  two  young  pigeons,  as  in 
this  case,  because  Joseph  and  Mary  ranked  among  the 
poorest  people.  Meanwhile  they  are  attending  to  the 
circumcision  and  the  sacrifice  in  the  temple,  the  good 
old  Prophet,  Simoon,  led  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  having  al- 
ready revealed  to  him  that  he  should  see  the  Lord's 
Christ,  comes  into  the  temple,  takes  the  infant  in  his 
arms,  blesses  God,  utters  some  thrilling  prophecies  in 
reference  to  the  fall  of  unbelieving  Israel,  the  uplift  of 
the  faithful  few,  and  the  wonderful  revelations  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  following.  Thus  he  bids  the  world  adieu 
with  Jesus  in  his  arms  and  glory  in  his  soul.  At  the 
same  time  Prophetess  Anna,  of  84  years,  having  long 
preached  the  living  word  to  the  pilgrims,  entering  the 


The  Infant  Jesus.  37 

temple,  joyfully  corroborates  the  testimony  of  Simeon 
in  his  reference  to  the  Infant  Redeemer. 

4.  Coming  of  the  Magi.  Matt.  11 :1-12.  These 
Magi,  i.  e.,  magicians  (wise  men,  E.  V.)  were  the  teach- 
ers of  religion,  astronomy,  astrology,  science  and  litera- 
ture in  the  succession  of  the  patriarchal  dispensation, 
with  which  Melchisedek,  Jethro  and  Job  were  identified 
in  their  day;  were  scattered  all  over  the  great  East, 
e.  g.,  Persia,  Amedia,  Arabia,  Messopotamia  and  other 
countries.  Being  astronomers  and  foretelling  future 
events  by  the  movements  of  the  stars,  such  was  their  ac- 
quaintance with  the  constellations  that  they  recognized 
a  new  star  the  moment  it  put  in  its  appearance.  At 
this  time,  in  the  providence  of  God,  their  attention  was 
arrested  by  the  astronomical  phenomenon  of  a  new  star, 
a  total  stranger  in  the  mighty  host  of  the  glittering  con- 
stellations, which  they  had  long  contemplated,  chasing 
each  other  in  their  nightly  peregrinations  over  the  ce- 
rulean concave.  This  shrewd  and  acute  diagnosis  of 
these  oriental  experts  not  only  detects  the  phenomenon, 
but  soon  observes  its  occidental  trend.  Guided  by  di- 
vine intuition,  they  immediately  set  out  on  an  exploring 
expedition  to  satisfy  their  godly  anxiety  in  reference  to 
the  star.  Day  after  day,  steadfastly  beating  their  march 
in  the  wake  of  the  holy  star,  they  ere  long  crossed  the 
Jordan,  the  star  still  trending  westward.  Now  they 
make  a  mistake,  so  incident  to  all  inquirers  after  truth, 
i.  e.,  leaving  the  guiding  star,  they  proceed  to  the  royal 
palace  in  Jerusalem,  thus  side-tracked  through  the  se- 
ductive temptation  to  look  upon  the  king  as  the  arbiter 
of  light  and  knowledge,  they  get  out  of  'the  way,  fall 
into  serious  trouble,  are  forced  to  skedaddle  from  the 


28  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

country,  narrowly  escaping  with  their  lives.  In  King 
Herod  they  not  only  signally  failed  to  receive  the  de- 
sired information^  but  aroused  his  suspicion  of  a  royal 
rival  in  the  person  of  Christ,  and  immediately  super- 
induced the  murderous  resort  of  the  monarch.  Learning 
from  the  prophecies  read  in  the  royal  presence  by  the 
scribes  and  chief  priests  responsive  to  the  inquiry  of 
Herod,  the  Magi  at  once  set  out  for  Bethlehem.  Several 
times  have  I  seen  the  Well  of  the  Star,  about  three  miles 
from  Jerusalem  on  the  road  to  Bethlehem,  so-called  be- 
cause at  that  place  the  star  re-appeared  to  the  wise  men, 
delightfully  following  which  they  soon  arrived  at  Beth- 
lehem, the  holy  star  halting  over  the  manger  hallowed 
to  contain  the  world's  Redeemer,  and  looking  down  from 
the  bright,  oriental  skies,  still  radiant  with  the  splen- 
dors and  resoundant  with  the  songs  of  the  heavenly  host. 

Hark,  a  glad  voice,  the  lonely  desert  cheers : 
Prepare  the  way,  a  God,  a  God  appears !  • 
Now  earth  receives  Him  from  the  bending  skies ; 
Sink  down,  ye  mountains ;  ye  valleys  rise ! 
With  heads  declined,  ye  cedars,  homage  pay; 
Be  smoothe,  ye  rocks,  y^  rapid  floods  give  way; 
The  Savior  comes,  by  ancient  bards  foretold ; 
Hear  Him,  ye  deaf,  and  all  ye  blind  behold. 

There  is  a  beautiful  symbolism  in  the  coming  of  the 
wise  men  to  see  Jesus,  and  their  going  back  another  way. 
Herod  symbolizes  the  devil,  who  always  gets  after  people, 
who  come  to  see  Jesus.  As  the  wdse  men  return  to  their 
own  country  another  w^ay,  so  all  the  people  who  seek 
and  find  Jesus  go  back  to  their  homes  over  a  route  they 
never  traveled  before.     In  their  outgoing,  they  prose- 


The  Infant  Jesus.  29 

cuted  their  journey  through,  the  land  of  sin;    but  for- 
tunately they  returned  through  EmanueFs  country. 

5.  The  Flight  Into  Egypt.  How  true  is  the 
maxim,  "The  Lord  will  provide !''  It  may  not  be  my  way, 
it  may  not  be  thy  way,  and  yet  in  His  own  way,  the 
Lord  will  provide.  God  knew  Joseph  and  Mary  were 
utterly  incompetent  financially  to  go  that  journey  of 
seven  hundred  miles  into  Egypt.  Yet  it  was  absolutel}' 
necessary  in  order  to  save  the  life  of  His  Son  from  the 
murderous  cruelty  of  the  haughty  monarch,  who  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  visible  church.  There  He  sent  the 
wise  men  from  the  distant  Orient  to  bring  the  money 
and  valuable  aromatics  salable  for  more  money,  to  de- 
fray the  expenses  of  that  long  journey  and  pay  their 
board  while  resident  in  Egypt.  I  have  been  in  the  iden- 
tical house,  a  very  venerable  stone  edifice  in  Old  Giro, 
where  the  holy  family  resided,  as  history  says,  a  month. 
It  is  now  a  Goptic  church,  commemorative  of  the  resi- 
dence of  the  infant  Savior.  During  both  of  my  tours  in 
Egypt  I  also  visited  the  holy  fig  tree,  under  which  tra- 
dition certifies  that  the  holy  family  pitched  their  tents 
quite  awhile.  The  Egyptian  fig  tree  is  very  large.  I 
found  this  one  twenty-five  feet  in  circumference  at  the 
ground,  and  all  of  its  trunk  and  branches  literally  cov- 
ered with  fruit. 

6.  Slaughter  of  the  Infants.  \\Tien  in  Bethle- 
hem I  saw  these  cruel  tragedies  vividly  represented  in 
artistic  paintings.  When  Herod  despaired  of  learning 
the  whereabouts  of  the  infant  Ghrist  from  the  ^lagi, 
who  contemmed  his  orders  clandestinely  escaping  out 
of  his  country,  he  flew  into  a  rage  characteristic  of  his 
haughty  autocracy  and  sent  soldiers  with  all  expedition 


30  Life  of  Jesus  and  Ills  Ajjustles. 

to  murder  all  the  boy  babies  in  that  country  two  years 
old  and  younger,  feeling  sure  that  he  would  get  the  right 
one.  How  signally  God  defeats  the  devil!  During  all 
of  these  atrocities,  Jesus  was  safe  and  prosperous  in  the 
far-aw^ay  land  of  Egypt.  Inspiration  describes  Eachel 
weeping  for  her  children  and  refusing  to  be  comforted, 
because  they  are  not.  Eachel's  tomb  stands  by  tlie  road 
from  Jerusalem  to  Bethlehem,  about  two  miles  from  the 
latter,  where  she  expired  during  parturition,  hence  the 
pertinency  of  the  prophet^s  vivid  allusion  to  this  mother 
in  Israel  sleeping  in  her  tomb  in  hearing  distance  of  the 
heart-breaking  lamentations  of  the  dying  and  the  be- 
reaved. We  see  in  this  bloody  tragedy  how  history  re- 
peats itself.  Many  a  modern  Herod  has  sought  infor- 
mation w^ith  reference  to  the  holiness  movement,  preten- 
tiously feigning  friendship,  while  really  "seeking  the 
young  child  to  destroy  him.^'  These  Herods  abound  in 
popular  pulpits  and  official  boards. 

7.  Departure  Out  of  Egypt.  When  God  spoke  to 
Mary,  He  sent  the  Archangel  Gabriel  to  communicate 
with  her  face  to  face.  Speaking  to  Joseph,  He  reveals 
His  will  in  dreams ;  thus  confirming  the  tenable  hypoth- 
esis of  woman's  near  proximity  to  the  Divinity.  He 
made  man  out  of  the  dust,  and  w^oman  out  of  man,  the 
second  blessing  in  creation.  She  w^as  last  at  the  cross, 
first  at  the  sepulchre,  first  to  meet  her  risen  Lord,  re- 
ceived His  full-orbed  commission  to  preach  the  risen 
Savior  to  the  disciples  and  a  dying  w^orld.  Here  we  see 
God  again  speaks  to  Joseph  in  a  dream,  notifying  him 
of  Herod's  death  and  ordering  his  return  to  Canaan. 
Eeaching  the  border  and  ascertaining  the  succession  of 
Herod  by  Archelans,  fearing  for  the  safety  of  the  child. 


The  Infant  Jesus.  31 

he  passes  through  Philistia  proceeding  northwardly  into 
Galilee,  his  native  land,  reaching  their  home  at  Xaza- 
reth,  where  Jesus  was  brought  up.  The  child  continued 
to  grow  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit,  being  filled  with  wis- 
dom ;  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  him.  Jesus  never 
had  any  sickness.  Such  a  conclusion  would  be  utterly 
out  of  harmony  with  His  human  perfection,  which  pre- 
cluded all  infirmities  of  every  kind.  Consequently  His 
growth  physical,  mental  and  spiritual  was  normal  and 
vigorous  being  entirely  unobstructed  even  by  the  infirmi- 
ties which  characterize  all  other  human  beings  even  at 
their  best  estate.  We  can  actually  have  no  adequate 
conception  of  the  wonderful  rapidity,  solidity  and  brill- 
iancy, which  characterize  His  progress,  specially  intellec- 
ually  and  spiritually. 

7.  Jesus  In  The  Temple.  After  their  arrival  at 
Xazareth  follows  the  unwritten  biography  of  Jesus 
for  nearly  thirty  years,  with  the  isolated  excep- 
tion of  His  journey  to  Jerusalem,  and  attending  the 
Passover  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  Luke  11 :41-52. 
The  Jewish  festivals  opened  and  closed  on  the  Sabbath, 
running  through  the  intervening  week,  comprising  in  all 
eight  days.  For  the  sake  of  company  and  security,  they, 
traveled  in  crowds,  most  of  them  on  foot,  some  on  don- 
keys and  some  on  camels.  When  setting  out  on  a  jour- 
ney to  or  fro  they  used  the  morning  to  get  ready  and 
started  about  noon.  Eeturning  from  the  above  Pass- 
over, they  traveled  about  fifteen  miles,  halting  at  Beeroth 
to  pitch  their  tents  for  the  oncoming  night,  when  miss- 
ing Jesus  and  failing  to  find  Him  among  His  relatives 
and  acquaintances,  they  return  to  Jerusalem  and  after 
three  days  find  him  in  the  Temple  sitting  in  the  midst 


32  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

of  the  learned  teachers  and  exponents  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, the  attention  of  all  concentrated  on  Him,  mean- 
while they  listened  spell-bound,  electrified  and  unut- 
terably astounded  and  dumbfounded  by  His  wisdom  and 
paradoxical  answers  to  the  questions  propounded  to  Him 
by  these  mighty  men  of  erudition  and  theology.  The 
inspired  historians  merely  state;  "he  went  down  with 
them  and  came  into  Nazareth,  and  was  subordinated  to 
them/'  When  I  was  in  Nazareth  I  was  ineffably  edified^ 
electrified  and  transported  while  visiting  Joseph's  car- 
penter shop;  in  which  I  saw  him  and  Jesus  at  work, 
and  Mary  sitting  by,  looking  on  them.  The  statuary 
Which  exhibits  them  is  the  heau  ideal  of  perfection,show- 
ing  them  up,  real  as  life.  The  statue  exhibits  Him  about 
sixteen  years  old,  the  facsimile  of  innocency,  purity  and 
simplicit}^  standing  at  the  work  bench,  using  the  saw 
and  the  hammer.  I  have  seen  worlds  of  statuary,  exe- 
cuted by  the  finest  sculptors  of  Egypt,  Greece,  Rome  and 
all  other  countries  and  all  bygone  ages ;  but  I  never  saw 
the  equ^al  of  the  statue,  that  represents  Jesus  working 
in  the  carpenter  shop.  There  is  but  one  solution,  and 
that  is,  the  Holy  Ghost  most  unquestionably,  took  the 
sculptor  into  His  hands  when  he  executed  that  climac- 
teric specimen  of  human  art.  "And  Jesus  continued  to 
progress  in  wisdom,  stature  and  favor  with  God  and 
men."  As  this  verb  is  in  the  imperfect  t^nse  you  see  it 
includes  the  entire  period  of  our  Lord's  life  down  to 
expiration  of  His  thirtieth  year,  April  5,  A.  D.,  30.  Re- 
nam  has  drawn  on  his  imagination  in  writing  out  the 
life  of  Jesus,  during  the  thirty  years  of  His  minority. 
Of  course  it  is  guess  work,  a  novel,  and  we  do  not  want 


The  Infant  Jesus.  33 

it.    Divine  wisdom  is  manifested  in  leaving  these  thirty 
years  unwritten : 

(1.)  Because  his  Messianic  ministry  had  not  yet  be- 
gun, and  his  biography  contained  nothing  essential  to 
salvation. 

(2)  If  it  had  been  written,  many  people  would  go 
into  superstition  and  fanaticism,  imputing  saving  val- 
idity to  it. 

(3)  It  would  actually  have  made  the  New  Testa- 
ment so  very  large  as  to  be  burdensome. 

(4)  The  brevity  of  our  Lord's  biography  is  a  won- 
derful help  to  the  diligent  student,  who  is  anxious  to 
learn  it  just  as  thoroughly  as  possible. 

(5)  There  is  a  great  mercy  in  the  quadruple  biog- 
raphy, as  the  diversity  of  style  on  the  part  of  Matthew, 
Mark,  Luke  and  John  conduces  much  to  augment  the 
light,  simplicity  and  perspicuity  which  flash  over  the 
inspired  pages  of  our  Lord's  thrilling  and  charming 
biography. 

(6)  The  summary  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  left  us  without  excuse  for  the  shame- 
ful ignorance  that  so  largely  prevails  among  the  nominal 
disciples  of  our  blessed  and  wonderful  Savior.  We 
here  observe  in  this  comprehensive  statement  winding  up 
the  inspired  history  of  Jesus,  during  His  minority ;  that 
He  continued  to  progress  in  wisdom,  stature  and  favor 
with  God  and  men,  perpetual  and  steady  onward  and  up- 
ward trend,  physical  strength,  giving  Him  that  stalwart 
body,  competent  to  climb  the  rugged  mountains,  cross 
the  valleys  and  perigrinates,  preaching  and  working  mir- 
acles from  dawn  till  dark;  and  that  wonderful  vigorous 
intellect   which    made   truth    simple    enough    for    the 


34  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

barbarian  and  idiot,  and  at  the  same  time  dived  into  the 
profundities,  soared  into  altitudes,  broadened  into  lati- 
tudes and  swept  down  into  the  longitudes  of  boundless 
eternity;  thus  evolving  a  curriculum  which  a  Pauline 
mind  will  never  exhaust  in  time  and  eternity.  Mean- 
while His  unfallen  human  spirit  was  expanding,  flash- 
ing and  accumulating  ever  Id  creasing  splendor,  vivacity 
and  power  of  interpretation,  peculiar  only  to  unfallen 
humanit}';  but  constantly  flashing  out  upon  the  land- 
scapes of  fadeless  glory,  the  bewildering  possibilities  of 
all  who  follow  Him  in  the  wonderful  regeneration  per- 
fected in  the  glorious  sanctification  and  culminated  in 
the  transfiguration,  which  will  sweep  from  the  field  all 
the  debris  of  the  fall  and  restore  it  back  to  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  Divine  image  and  likeness  of  which  Satan 
spoliated  us ;  thus  in  the  successess  of  our  glorious  Cap- 
tain we  will  triumphantly  survive  not  only  the  wrecked 
ruin  of  the  fall,  but  every  conceivable  vestige  will 
evanesce,  so  the  gigantic  intellect  of  Gabriel  and  Michael 
will  never  detect  a  solitary  imprint  of  Satan's  cloven 
foot.  It  is  pertinent  here  to  observe  that  this  is  the  last 
mention  of  Joseph,  that  noble  man  of  God,  so  signally 
honored  with  the  foster  fatherhood  of  the  world's  Re- 
deemer. Of  course  he  exchanged  labor  for  rest  some- 
time during  the  subsequent  eighteen  years  of  oui 
Lord's  minoTity. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  MAN  JESUS. 

We  have  already  passed  through  the  minority  of  the 
Man  who  always  has  been  and  always  will  be  the  won- 
der of  the  ages,  the  puzzle  of  philosophers,  the  stumb- 
ling block  of  Theologian  and  the  ridde  of  all  critics. 
Pursuant  to  the  law  of  his  dispensation,  which  put  ma- 
jority at  thirty  and  maturity  at  fifty,  this  Paragon  Man 
remained  obedient  in  the  home  circle  till  He  completed 
His  thirtieth  year,  April  5.  Meanwhile  his  cousin,  John 
the  Baptist,  six  months  His  senior,  has  already  been  in 
the  exercise  of  his  wonderful  ministry  these  six  months 
from  his  majority;  beginning  obscure,  poor,  illiterate 
and  uninfluential ;  his  ministry  like  the  snow-ball,  on  the 
Alpine  summit,  starts  rolling,  accumulating  with  every 
bound,  till  it  becomes  a  mighty  avalanche  sweeping  ev- 
erv'thing  before  it.  So  John  the  Baptist  has  become  the 
sensation  not  only  of  the  nation,  but  of  the  world.  He 
has  emptied  the  cities  and  populated  the  wilderness  with 
teeming  thousands.  His  stentorian  voice  daily  holds 
spell-bound  an  audience  of  ten  to  twenty  thousand ;  not 
only  is  all  the  land  of  Israel  stirred  as  never  before  since 
the  days  of  Moses,  but  the  wild  sons  of  Ishmael  and 
Esau  are  pouring  out  daily  from  the  Land  of  Moab  and 
Idumaea.  At  this  culmination  of  John's  wonderful  min- 
istry Jesus  lays  down  the  plane,  the  saw  and  the  ham- 
mer, bids  adieu  to  the  carpenter  shop  and  goes  away, 
walking  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  arriving  at  the  scene 

35 


36  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

of  John's  ministry,  while  the  mighty  hosts  are  listening 
spellbound.  Suddenly  John  turns,  points  Him  out  and 
shouts  aloud;  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world."  The  vast  multitude  thrilled 
and  bewildered  with  astonishment  and  enthusiasm, 
spontaneously  give  way,  opening  a  temporary  aisle 
through  which  the  stranger  walks  down,  meanwhile 
John  descending  from  his  native  stone  pulpit  advances 
to  meet  him; — truly  the  most  wonderful  meeting  ever 
witnessed  by  mortal  eyes,  that  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
and  the  Czar  of  Russia  on  the  river  Tilsit  not  excepted. 
Jesus  demands  baptism  at  the  hands  of  John ;  who  mod- 
estly declining  confesses  his  need  of  the  baptism,  which 
none  but  Jesus  can  give,  i.  e,,  that  of  the  Holy  G-host 
and  fire.  John  was  not  begotten  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  like 
Jesus.  Therefore  he  inherited  depravity  from  Adam 
which  nothing  but  the  fires  of  the  Holy  Ghost  can  de- 
stroy. Jesus  acquiesces  in  John's  affirmation  of  his  need 
of  His  baptism ;  but  at  the  same  time  notifying  him  that 
it  was  incumbent  on  them,  i.  e.,  John  and  Jesus  "to  ful- 
fill all  righteousness."  That  righteousness  is  found  in  the 
Levitical  law  requiring  the  high  priest  to  be  anointed  be- 
fore he  could  enter  upon  the  orders  of  his  office.  Pursu- 
ant to  this  law,  Moses  poured  the  Holy  oil  on  the  head 
of  Aaron,  thus  inducting  him  into  his  official  high  priest- 
hood. Then  John  proceeds  with  the  baptism  of  water 
to  consecrate  his  Lord  for  his  official  Messiahship.  Luke 
3  :21-23.  "And  it  came  to  pass  while  all  the  people 
were  being  baptized  Jesus  also  having  been  baptized  and 
praying,  the  Heaven  was  opened,  the  Holy  Spirit  with 
bodily  appearance,  like  a  dove,  came  down  on  Him  and 
there  was  a  voice  from  Heaven  saying ;  "thou  art  my  be- 


The  Man  Jesus.  37 

loved  son,  in  Thee  I  am  well  pleased/'  We  see  here  that 
when  Jesu«  was  baptized  He  continued  praying  to  the 
Father  to  send  on  Him  the  Holy  Grhost.  X.  B. — Jesus 
is  perfect  Man  and  perfect  God. 

Do  not  forget  that  it  was  the  Man  Jesus  who  suffered 
and  died  to  redeem  this  guilty  world,  as  divinity  can 
neither  suffer  nor  die.  The  Man  Jesus  did  the  preach- 
ing and  sealed  the  truth  with  the  blood  of  martyrdom. 
Just  as  you  and  I  in  order  to  preach  the  gospel  must 
have  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  Apostks  all  preached  the 
gospel  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  Heaven. 
Jesus  our  great  Apostle  and  High  Priest,  in  His  earthly 
ministry  was  no  exception  to  Biblical  law.  He  must 
have  the  •enduement  of  the  personally  indwelling  Holy 
Ghost,  to  qualify  Him  for  His  ministry.  John's  baptism 
was  his  consecration  to  his  Messianic  ministry;  mean- 
while he  prayed  right  on  till  the  Holy  Ghost  descended 
from  Heaven  and  rested  on  him,  thus  filling  and  empow- 
ering him  for  his  ministry.  WTiile  Jesus  is  the  Paragon 
Man  of  all  the  world,  you  must  remember  that  He  nev- 
er had  any  sin,  actual  or  original,  consequently  He 
never  needed  the  sin  side  of  Christian  experience. 
Therefore  He  only  exhibits  the  positive  side  of  His 
birth,  illustrating  our  regeneration  and  His  reception 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  our  sanctification,  while  the  thirty 
years  of  his  miinority  at  Xazareth  show  up  in  spotless 
purity  and  simplicity  a  paragon  justification;  we  find 
but  a  solitary  incident  in  all  that  period  sufficiently  im- 
portant to  justify  the  attention  of  the  inspired  historian. 
Hence  \ve  legitimately  conclude  that  His  life  was  une- 
ventful. The  same  is  "^^ue  of  all  His  followers  during 
their  spiritual  minority.     "^  preached  fifteen  years  and 


38  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

was  president  of  a  college,  before  I  got  sanctified ;  yet  my 
life  was  without  events,  not  one  of  the  eighteen  books 
which  I  have  subsequently  written,  had  so  much  as 
dawned  on  my  anticipation,  neither  had  my  subsequent 
travels  been  so  much  as  dreamed  of.  Luke  11 :52  says 
"Jesus  during  His  minority  grew  in  favor  with  God  and 
men/^  How  vididly  does  this  contrast  with  His  own  fre- 
quent affirmations  subsequent  to  the  coming  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  on  Him,  that  "the  world  hateth/'  His  re- 
ception of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  the  Jordan  was  His  sanc- 
tifieation,  qualifying  Him  at  once  to  enter  upon  the 
ministry  for  which  He  came  into  the  world.  Oh,  what  a 
sudden  transition  from  the  quietude  and  toils  of  the 
domestic  life  which  had  characterized  Him  during  the 
thirty  years  of  His  minority,  to  the  stormy  and  temp- 
estuous career  upon  which  he  entered.  Then  the  Holy 
Ghost  descended  on  Him  from  Heaven.  Immediately 
He  was  led  by  the  spirit  away  into  the  dreary  desert  to 
be  tempted  by  the  devil.  Mark  says  "The,  spirit  driveth 
Him  out  into  the  wilderness.-'^  Sanctification  means  war, 
conflict,  blood  and  death;  i.  e.,  that  you  at  once  move 
forward,  take  your  stand  on  the  first  line  in  the  front  of 
the  battle,  load  to  the  muzzle  and  always  shoot  to  kill. 
You  go  for  conquest  and  scalps,  you  fight  not  for  g}'m- 
nastic  exercise,  but  for  victory  all  the  time.  The  Holy 
Ghost  is  honored  by  every  battle  you  fight,  because  He 
alwa}^  gives  you  victor}^  Moses,  the  mediator  of  the 
Sinaic  eovenant,and  Elijah,  the  greatest  of  the  prophets, 
both  fasted  forty  days  (of  course  being  divinely  sus- 
tained in  their  spiritual  rapture,  otherw'ise  they  would 
have  starved  to  death.)  Inspiration  certifies  that  the  an- 
gels ministered  to  Jesus  during  the  forty  days,  making 


The  Man  Jesus,  39 

the  scene  really  heavenly,  so  that  He  was  sustained  in  a 
preternatural  rhapsody,  of  fortifying  against  hunger,  till 
after  the     lapse  of     the  forty  days,  when     the  angelic 
myriads  were  withdrawn,  leaving  Him  alone  amid  the 
hleak  wilds  of  the  burning  waste,  when  hunger  incon- 
ceivably intensified  by  reason  of  the  forty  days'  fast  lit 
down  on  Him  with  the  gnawing  voracity  of  a  thousand 
harpies.     Xow  amid  the  gloomy  solitude  of  the  howling 
wdlderness  Satan  makes  his  first  assault  on  His  physical 
manhood  by  tempting  Him  to  use  His  miraculous  power 
in  transforming  a  stone  lying  at  his  feet,  into  a  loaf  of 
bread  to  satisfy  his  craving  appetite.  Jesus  was  in  perfect 
health,  and  His  hunger,  sharpened  by  forty  days'  fast, 
is  absolutely  inconceivable  by  any  who  should  ever  read 
these  pages.     The  Wilderness  of  Judea  in  which  this 
temptation  took  place,  (and  through  which  I  have  trav- 
eled four  times),  reaches  within  fifteen  miles  of  Jerusa- 
lem.   Xow  Satan  leads  Jesus  to  the  temple  and  has  Him 
climb  the  loftiest  pinnacle,  from  which  he  tempts  Him 
to  leap ;  this  assault  the  adversary  made  on  His  human 
spirit,  turning  his  hellish  artiller}^  against  His  faith, 
which  is  the  basis  of  all  spirituality.     Finally  he  leads 
him  to  the  summit  of  the  highest  mountain  (I  trow  it 
was  Olivet  which  is  the  highest  in  South  Canaan,  and 
only  separated  from  Jerusalem  by  the  valley  Jehosa- 
phat)  and  ex^hibits  before  him  a  gorgeous  panorama  of 
all  the  time  honored  empires  beneath  the  skies,  offering 
him  what  he  alleged  as  a  most  reasonable  compromise 
of  all  their  controversities,  i.  e.,  that  he  would  actually 
enthrone  him  monarch  of  all  this  world,  turning  it  over 
to  him  unreservably  and  for  ever  contenting  himself  to 
reign  in  hell  only,  pn  the  isolated  condition,  that  he 


40  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

should  become  iiis  ally  and  extend  to  him  the  adoration 
due  an  oriental  monarch.  This  assault  was  directed 
against  the  gigantic^  unfallen  intellect  of  Jesus.  Al- 
ready had  Sesostris,  i.  e.^  Eameses  II,  the  Pharaoh  of 
Moses'  time,  Nebuchadezzar,  Cyrus,  Alexander,  and 
Caesar  conquered  the  world. 

Satan,  whose  mind  is  utterly  dark  on  spiritual 
things,  at  once  leaped  to  the  conclusion  that  Jesus  was 
an  aspirant  to  temporal  power.  When  Satan  had  ex- 
hausted all  his  resources  he  retreated  ^way;  the  angels 
coming  at  once  were  delighted  to  extend  Him  every  con- 
ceivable blessing  within  the  sphere  of  their  heavenly 
ministrations.  You  see  that  a  solitary  stroke  with  the 
sword  of  the  spirit  signally  defeated  Satan  and  achieved 
a  complete  victory  over  each  of  the  three  decisive  as- 
saults, which  he  made  on  the  humanity  of  our  Lord, 
i.  e.,  his  body,  spirit  and  intellect.  This  fact  is  inval- 
uable to  us,  illustrating  the  infinite  value  of  God's  word 
and  flooding  us  with  the  realization  of  the  paramount 
importance  of  having  it  in  our  memories  and  meditating 
on  it  like  the  blessed  man  (Psa.  1,)  night  and  day;  thus 
having  it  superabounding  in  the  heart,  ready  to  leap 
from  the  tongue-tip  every  moment  we  are  all  living  in 
the  enemies'  country,  (2  Cor.  4  :4),  and  liable  to  assault, 
battle  and  death  incessantly.  What  a  decisively  contrast 
between  Satan's  wars  on  Adam  the  First  and  Adam  the 
Second!  In  the  former,  victory  complete  came  on  the 
first  round;  Satan  actually  economizing  two-thirds  of 
his  ammunition.  In  the  latter  he  used  all  of  his  ammu- 
nition and  fortunately  for  us  lost  it  all.  The  secret  of 
this  glorious  victory  was  the  occupation  of  the  Man 
Jesus  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  who  not  only  led  him  into  the 


The  Man  Jesus.  11 

battle,  but  in  every  case,  achieved  complete  and  over- 
whelming victory,  thus  imparting  accumulated  strength 
and  courage.  No  wonder  Jesus  forbade  His  own  Apos- 
tles to  embark  on  the  conquest  of  the  world,  till  the}' 
received  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Pentecost.  He  well  knew 
their  utter  inadequacy  to  the  emergency.  The  nor- 
mal attitude  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  is  that  of  spirit- 
ual manhood,  in  contradistinction  to  the  infancy  of  the 
former  dispensation.  Gal.  4:1-7.  Church- joining  is  a 
misnomer.  We  are  not  joined  into  the  church  of  God. 
but  bom  into  it;  regeneration  making  you  an  infant 
member, where  you  remain  in  a  state  of  spiritual  minori- 
ty till  you  receive  the  personal  Holy  Ghost  in  real  and 
complete  sanctification ;  thus  conferring  on  you  spir- 
itual majority,  preparing  you  for  every  conflict  with  the 
world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  and  insuring  you  certain 
and  glorious  victory.  In  this  there  is  absolutely  no  de- 
falcation. So  long  as  you  enjoy  the  indwelling  Holy 
Spirit,  he  fights  your  battles  and  gives  you  victory. 
Defeat  only  comes  after  you  have  grieved  away  the 
glorious  Paraclete.  No  wonder  the  people  of  Nazareth 
so  awfully  fell  out  with  Jesus  when  He  preached  His 
first  sermon  to  them  after  He  had  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  at  the  Jordan.  When  only  twelve  years  old,  He 
was  an  able  and  edifying  teacher  of  the  word;  but  we 
hear  nothing  about  His  raising  awful  rousements  with 
the  Devil.  So  it  is  now,  we  may  teach  in  the  Sunday- 
schools,  preach  in  the  churches  and  do  a  lot  of  good,  be- 
fore we  get  sanctified ;  we  are  not  likely  to  stir  the  devil 
much.  I  was  in  that  old  synagogue  in  Nazareth  (a 
venerable,  massive  stone  building) ,  where  Jesus  wor- 
shiped thirty  years,  living  the  life  of  irreproachable  jus- 


42  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

tification,  doing  His  whole  duty  and  glorifying  His 
Father,  by  teaching  the  word  of  the  Lord.  After  He  en- 
tered His  spiritual  majority,  being  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  from  that  m-oment  it  descended  on  Him  in  the 
form  of  a  dove,  He  always  preached  the  gospel  "with 
the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  Heaven."  Thus  filled 
and  flooded  with  the  spirit,  having  returned  to  his  na- 
tive Nazareth;  He  proceeds  to  preach  his  glorious  gos- 
pel. See  what  a  phenomenon!  The  people  who  have 
knowTL  him  from  the  cradle  can  scarcely  believe  their 
own  e3^es  and  ears!  His  words  are  lightning's  shafts, 
and  his  sentences  thunderbolts !  They  tear  out  the  mud 
©ills  of  the  old  carnal  edifices,  which  they  had  thought 
competent  to  stand  the  storms  of  eternity.  They  raise 
a  row,  lay  violent  hands  on  Him,  determined  to  kill 
Him,  forcing  him  to  resort  to  his  divinity  to  prolong  his 
life  till  he  could  preach  his  gospel,  call  out  his  church 
and  organize  his  ministr}\  Similar  phenomena  have 
always  characterized  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  power 
of  the  indwelling  Holy  Ghost.  When  the  Lord  sanctified 
me  thirty-three  years  ago,  He  made  me  a  cyclone  or  fire 
moving  over  the  earth.  Everywhere  I  preached  the  Holy 
Ghost  fell  on  the  people  and  they  got  convicted,  con- 
verted and  sanctified.  I  could  have  a  revi\al  anywhere. 
I  preached  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  Mexico  and 
through  the  great  interior,  500  to  900  sermons  a  A^ar, 
till  I  wore  out  my  voice  and  my  nerves,  when  God  in  His 
mercy  put  His  hand  on  me  excusing  me  from  the  thun- 
der, tempest,  lightning,  and  earthquake  of  the  dear  old 
battle  field  with  which  I  was  so  delighted,  and  made  me 
a  teacher  in  the  school  of  Christ,  giving  me  many  books 
to  write,  thus  preaching  by  pen  as  well  as  speech.     Oh 


The  Man  Jesus.  '  43 

His  uilutterable  goodness!  Who  can  tell?  Reader  ] 
hope  you  are  a  disciple  of  Jesus.  He  lived  and  died  un*- 
der  the  law  dispensation,  which  made  thirty  years  the 
period  of  minority.  This  he  observed  before  He  entered 
upon  His  Messianic  ministry.  We  live  under  the  dis- 
pensation of  a  full  and  glorious  liberty,  so  beautifully 
emblematized  by  the  impressive  and  instructive  sym- 
bolism of  the  typical  ages  in  the  wonderful  liberty  of 
this  Holy  Ghost  dispensation,  we  do  not  have  to  wait 
thirty  years  nor  even  thirty  days  for  spiritual  majority, 
i.  e.,  m'anhood  in  Christ ;  but  amid  the  splendors  of  gos- 
pel opportunities,  full  salvation  proculminates  ringing 
round  the  world,  we  may  all  make  the  consecration 
which  Jesus  did  in  the  baptism  of  John  and  pray  on  as 
he  did,  till  the  Holy  Ghost  descendis  on  us  from  Heaven ; 
thus  sanctifying  us  wholly  and  taking  up  his  abode  in 
our  hearts,  investing  us  with  'a  whole  canopy  and  mak- 
ing us  more  than  a  match  for  the  world,  the  flesh  and 
the  devil.  Oh,  the  unutterable  glories  of  a  spirit-filled 
disciple  in  the  track  of  Jesus ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS. 

The  induement  of  the  Holy  Gliost  really  launched 
Him  into  the  ministryfor  which  He  came  into  the  world. 
His  beautiful  miracle  in  Canaan  of  Galilee,  turning  the 
water  into  A\ine  was  prolific,  his  real  beginning  tak- 
ing place  speedily  afterward  at  Jerusalem,  cleansing  the 
temple  pursuant  to  the  prophes}',  Ps.  IxixilO,  specify- 
ing that  the  Messiah  appearing  would  come  suddenly  to 
the  Temple  and  purify  it.  It  is  pertinent  here  that  we 
give  you  an  explanation  about  the  Temple  which  I  never 
knew  till  I  visited  the  Holy  Land.  I  always  thought 
those  sacrificial  animals  which  Jesus  drove  out  were  ac- 
tually in  the  Temple  Building.  This  is  a  great  mistake. 
The  word  Temple  appearing  so  frequently  in  the  Bible 
included  thirty-five  acres  of  beautiful  table  land  on  the 
summit  of  Mount  Moriah ;  containing  Solomon's  temple 
and  many  other  magnificent  buildings;  but  by  far  the 
greater  portion  of  the  area  is  entirely  unoccupied  by  any 
superstructure.  On  these  holy  grounds  the  mjTiads  of 
Israel  pitched  their  tents  during  their  great  festivals,  i. 
€.,  their  camp-meetings;  The  Passover  in  April,  Pente- 
cost in  June  and  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  in  Septem- 
ber, each  have  a  grand  symbolic  significance;  the  Pass- 
over symbolizing  regeneration ;  Pentecost,  sanctification, 
and  Tabernacles,  glorification.  The  reason  why  we  can 
see  all  of  these  things  now  at  Jerusalem,  is  because  the 
Mohammedans  who  have  possessed  and  ruled  that  coun- 

44 


The  Ministry  of  Jesus.  45 

try  (with  the  little  interruption  of  the  crusaders,  88 
years)  are  the  descendents  through  Ishmael  and  Esau, 
the  eldest  son  and  grandson  of  Abraham,  who  not  only 
have  in  their  Koran  all  the  prominent  facts  of  the  Old 
Testament,  but  they  claim  tlie  right  to  that  country 
through  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  Abraham,  to 
give  it  to  him  and  his  seed  forever;  alleging  the  pre- 
eminence of  their  claim  over  that  of  tlie  Jews,  pursuant 
to  the  well  knowTi  Patriarchal  Law  which  gave  the  eldest 
son  the  birthright,  i.  e.,  a  double  portion  of  the  father's 
estate.  These  people  conquered  and  took  possession  of 
that  country,  A.  D.,  637.  They  hold  the  Temple 
ground,  i.  e.,  those  thirty-five  acres,  as  the  holiest  place 
this  side  of  Heaven,  really  regarding  it  just  about  as 
Holy  as  Heaven.  As  the  Jews  are  their  uncompromising 
rivals,  they  originally  prohibited  them  from  entering  the 
holy  ground  on  penalty  of  death.  A  Gentile  can  go  into 
it  under  the  greatest  restrictions,  guarded  by  Turkish 
soldiers,  also  paying  money  for  the  privilege.  When 
David  numbered  Israel,  God  was  much  grieved  (evi- 
dently because  He  knew  that  many  of  them  were  not 
true  Israelites) ;  He  at  once  entered  into  terrible  judg- 
ment with  him ;  giving  him  his  choice  between  three  aw- 
ful punishments,  (1)  a  seven  years'  famine,  (2)  three 
months'  retreat  before  his  enemies,  and  (3)  a  wasting 
and  blighting  pestilence  of  three  days.  So  David  was 
in  an  awful  dilemma ;  a  seven  years'  famine  would  per- 
haps depopulate  his  country,  whitening  the  land  with 
bones.  Defeat  by  his  enemies  three  months  was  utterly 
intolerable  by  a  brave  man  like  David,  who  knew  well 
that  all  the  great  nations  whom  he  had  conquered  would 
not  only  revolt  but  turn  on  him  for  vengeance.    There- 


46  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

fore  he  chose  the  latter,  saying  "Let  me  fall  into  the 
hands  of  God"!  He  knew  that  God  was  merciful  and 
would  rather  risk  him  than  men.  So  the  pestilence  seta 
in  and  the  people  are  dying  in  piles  on  all  sides.  Ere 
long  the  eyes  of  David  are  opened  and  he  looks  from 
his  residence  in  the  City  of  David  on  Mt.  Zion  over  the 
intervening  valley  to  Mt.  Moriah  and  sees  the  destroy- 
ing angel  with  uplifted  sword,  falls  down  before  God 
and  cries  aloud,  "Oh,  Lord  spare  these  sheep  and  let  me 
die."  God  heard  his  cry  and  called  away  the  destroying 
angel  and  arrested  the  pestilence.  David  ran  to  the  sum- 
mit of  Moriah  where  he  saw  the  angel.  It  was  then 
occupied  by  Arannah's  threshing-floor.  David  besought 
him  to  sell  it  to  him  that  he  might  erect  an  altar  and 
ojffer  sacrifices  to  God,  whose  mercy  had  saved  the  people 
from  death.  Arannah  refused  to  sell  it,  but  said  he 
would  give  it  to  him  and  the  oxen  for  sacrifices  and  the 
implements  for  fuel.  Then  David  refused  to  receive  it 
as  a  gift,  affirming  his  utter  unwillingness  to  offer  God  a 
sacrifice  that  cost  him  nothing.  Consequently  Arannah 
sold  it  to  him.  On  that  very  spot  in  the  long  ago,  Abra^ 
ham  had  offered  up  his  son  Isaac  as  a  sacrifice  to  God. 
On  this  identical  spot,  David  aimed  to  build  a  temple, 
but  God  kept  him  in  other  work,  conferring  that  blessing 
on  Solomon,  who  in  his  day  immortalized  his  name  by 
building  the  Temple  there  on  the  summit  of  Moriah. 

Pursuant  to  the  prediction  of  Jesus  that  Temple  was 
destroyed  by  the  Roman  armies,  A.  D.  73;  the  land 
being  desolated  and  depopulated  during  the  exterminat- 
ing wars,  i.  e.,  the  Jewish  Tribulations,  a  million  of  peo- 
ple perishing  by  the  sword,  pestilence  and  famine;  a 
million  more  sold  into  slavery  to  other  nations,  and  the 


The  Ministry  of  Jesus.  47 

remnant  led  captives  to  Rome  to  become  imperial  slaves. 
Jerusalem  lay  desolate  fifty  years,  without  an  inhabitant, 
when  the  Emperor  Adrian  went  thither,  found  a  Roman 
colony  which  he  named  Elia  Capitolina,  and  built  a 
heathen  temple  on  the  site  of  Solomon's  Temple.  So 
idols  were  worshiped  on  that  holy  spot,  till  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Emperor  Constantine,  A.  D.  321;  who  at 
once  came  to  Jerusalem,  restoring  that  sacred  name,  tak- 
ing down  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  and  erecting  on  the  spot 
a  Christian  one  which  stood  till  the  conquest  of  the 
country  by  the  Mohammedans,  A.  D.  637;  when  Caliph 
Omar,  their  commander-in-chief,  took  down  the  Chris- 
tian church  and  erected  a  Mohammedan  Mosque  on 
the  spot  which  stood  till  the  Christian  crusaders  con- 
quered the  country  and  captured  Jerusalem  under  the 
leadership  of  pious  Godfrey,  A.  D.  1099.  The  Crusad- 
ers took  down  the  Mosque  and  erected  a  Christian 
church  on  that  hallowed  spot,  w'hich  stood  88  years  till 
the  Mohammedans  under  the  leadership  of  Salidan  sig- 
nally defeated  the  crusaders  in  the  great  battle  fought 
on  Mount  Hattan  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Galilean  Sea, 
thus  driving  the  Christians  utterly  out  of  the  Holy 
Land.  Then  they  took  down  the  Christian  Church  and 
restored  the  Mohammedan  Mosque  on  that  historic  site 
where  Abraham  offered  Isaac,  David  saw  the  angel  and 
Solomon  built  the  Temple.  I  have  traveled  through  these 
holy  grounds  during  both  of  my  visits  to  Jerusalem.  The 
Mohammedan  Mosque  now  standing  there  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  buildings  in  the  world.  This  spot  is  the 
most  celebrated  in  Bible  history  of  all  the  world,  this  oc- 
cupies all  of  Moriah  and  overlooks  the  Holy  Campus  ly- 
ing   out  towards    sunrise,  containing    thirty-five  acres 


48  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

where  the  Moslem  millions  now  assemble  in  their  great 
religious  communications  and  where  the  Jews  fifteen 
hundred  years,poured  in  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  their 
teaming  myraids  to  enjoy  their  holy  festivals.  The  crit- 
ics all  deny  that  Jesus  was  ever  in  the  Temple  proper, 
as  all  of  this  ground,  thirty-five  acres,  was  included  in 
the  comprehensive  word,  Temple,  used  in  the  Bible.  As 
the  Temple  building  was  in  the  hands  of  the  high 
priest,  who  rejected  Jesus  from  the  beginning,  it  is 
affirmed  that  they  never  let  Him  enter  Solomon's  Tem- 
ple. I  used  to  think  that  Solomon's  Porch  in  which  he 
was  once  mentioned  as  walking,  was  a  projeetion  from 
the  Temple.  This  is  a  mistake.  It  was  separate,  off 
near  the  Beautiful  Gate  which  enters  the  ground  horn 
the  East  and  is  four  or  five  hundred  yards  from  Solo- 
mon's Temple.  Our  Savior  was  an  indefatigable  open- 
air  preacher.  He  availed  Himself  of  tlie  great  festivals 
to  which  the  multitudes  gatliered  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  to  preach  his  glorious  heavenly  truth,  that  they 
might  catch  it  and  carry  it  with  them  in  all  their  vast 
dispersions;  for  you  must  remember  as  the  Jews  have 
always  been  the  most  enterprising  people  in  the  world, 
they  had  gone  into  ever}^  nation,  colonized  every  city, 
growing  rich  by  their  merchandise  and  other  industries. 
Among  all  their  festivals,  the  Passover  was  the  most 
prominent,  being  epochal  in  the  history  of  their  nation- 
al birth,  as  slaves  have  no  nationality,  and  the  Passovet 
was  executed  to  commemorate  their  emancipation  from 
Egyptian  bondage.  On  that  memorable  night  when  the 
destroying  angel  winged  its  flight  throughout  all  the 
land  and  slew  the  first  born  in  every  Egyptian  home, 
seeing  the  slain  lamb  on  the  door-posts,  he  passed  over 


The  Ministry  of  Jesus.  49 

the  houses  of  Israel.  This  institution  was  repeated  an- 
nually on  the  fourteenth  of  April  through  the  1491 
years  which  elapsed  till  the  Lamb  of  God  was  slain  on 
Calvary.  Among  the  millions  of  birds  and  beasts  which 
bled  on  Jehovah's  altars  four  thousand  years;  the  Pass- 
over Lamb  was  the  most  conspicuous  symbol  of  the  great 
Antitype  destined  in  the  fulness  of  time  to  bleed  and 
die  for  a  guilty  world.  Josephus  says  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousands  were  slain  at  a  single  Passover.  What 
rivers  of  blood  did  fi'ow  during  typical  dispensations, 
teaching  by  their  vast,  oft  repeated  and  indelible  black- 
board exercises  the  greatest  and  most  important  fact  ever 
revealed  to  the  human  race,  that  God  Himself  was  com- 
ing down  to  bleed  and  die  for  earth's  guilty  millions !  In 
the  study  of  our  Savior's  biography,  you  should  never 
lose  sight  of  Passovers.  They  serve  the  traveler  as  val- 
uable guideboards.  During  his  ministry  of  three  3'ears 
we  have  four  Passovers.  One  marks  the  beginning  when 
he  purified  the  Temple  by  driving  out  the  buyers  and 
sellers,  who  had  their  herds  and  flocks  on  the  holy 
ground,  to  sell  to  the  people  who  wanted  to  offer  sacri- 
fices, while  the  exchangers  received  the  Greek  and  Ro- 
man money  which  they  gathered  from  the  Gentiles,  but 
was  not  received  in  the  temple  treasury.  Therefore  they 
must  exchange  it  for  Jewish  money  before  they  could 
make  their  offering  to  the  Lord.  The  reason  why  Jesus 
charged  them  with  making  the  House  of  God  a  den  of 
thieves  was  because  they  cheated  the  people  in  selling  the 
animals  and  birds,  and  exchanging  the  money.  Cheat- 
ing is  stealing.  If  you  overcharge,  you  are  a  thief. 
The  two  cleansings  of  the  Temple  s}Tnbolize  the  two 
works  of  Grace,  regeneration  and  sanctification.    When 


50  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  Lord  comes  again  he  will  give  a  final  cleansing, 
symbolizing  our  glorification,  which  we  receive  when  we 
die,  unless  we  have  the  fortune  to  survive  till  He  comes 
in  the  rapture  and  takes  up  His  saints,  then  all  the  liv- 
ing will  be  instantaneously,  soul  and  body,  transfigured 
and  translated.  Our  Lord  thus  began  His  ministry  at 
the  Passover,  returned  to  Jerusalem  and  attended  the 
second;  but  did  not  come  to  the  third  as  those  multi- 
tudes whom  He  miraculously  fed  with  the  loaves  and 
fishes  on  the  mountain  Bethsaida  off  the  West  coast  of 
the  Galilean  Sea,  were  excited  by  the  miracle,  and  were 
about  to  crown  Him  king,  in  which  case  the  Eomans 
would  have  killed  Him,  consequently  He  declined  to 
attend  the  third  Passover,  sending  away  the  multitudes, 
who  were  then  assembled  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  he  re- 
mained in  Galilee.  The  fourth  Passover  He  attended 
and  became  the  identical  Paschal  Lamb  symbolized  by 
that  great  institution  the  passed  1491  years. 


CHAPTER  V. 

JESUS  PREACHING  IN  GALILEE. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  our  Lord  spent  two  and 
one-half  years  out  of  the  tliree  of  liis  earthly  ministry  in 
the  comparatively  thinly  populated  and  obscure  regions 
of  Galilee.  It  is  affirmed  by  critics  that  He  never  spent 
a  night  in  Jerusalem.  When  the  Devil  gets  hold  of  the 
church  it  always  becomes  God^'s  greatest  enemy.  We  see 
this  illustrated  in  the  history  of  Jesus.  King  Herod 
at  the  head  of  the  church  deluged  Bethlehem  and  the 
surrounding  country  in  blood  in  order  to  kill  Him.  The 
high  priests  and  ruling  elders  hounded  His  track  all  his 
life  thirsting  for  his  blood.  Therefore  He  dare  not 
spend  a  night  in  Jerusalem^  their  headquarters,  or  they 
certainly  would  have  attacked  Him.  The  presumption 
is  when  Xicodemus  sought  that  nightly  interview  witfh 
Him,  he  was  either  in  Bethany  or  some  of  the  villages 
of  Mt.  Olivet.  As  it  was  absolutely  necessar}^  that  he 
should  have  time  to  teach  his  disciples  the  great  truths 
indispensable  to  the  salvation  of  the  world,  he  needed 
three  full  years  to  prosecute  that  work,  establish  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  on  the  earth  and  prepare  His  peo- 
ple to  propagate  it  to  the  ends  of  the  globe.  Oh,  how  I 
did  enjoy  my  travels  in  Galilee !  Especially  tlie  Sea  of 
Galilee  on  whose  bank  stood  the  City  of  Capernaum, 
where  Jesus  made  his  head-quarters,  as  is  believed,  lodg- 
ing ini  the  house  of  Peter,  who  was  living  there  when  the 
Master  called  him  to  the  Apostlesihip.     The  charm  I 

51 


52  Life  of  Jesus  arid  His  Apostles. 

felt  while  sailing  over  this  beautiful  sea  over  whidi  Je- 
sus sailed  so  much,  and  on  whose  shore  He  preached  to 
the  spell-bound  multitudes,  beggars  all  language  to  de- 
scribe. I  sailed  all  round  hither  and  thither  on  the 
track  of  my  Lord,  with  my  harmonical  Greek  Testament 
open  before  my  eyes,  and  the  quadruple  histories  of  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke  and  John,  edifying  and  thrilling  me 
as  we  sailed  from  shore  to  shore,  over  those  beautiful 
cerulean  waters,  limpid,  fresh  and  abounding  in  fish,  as 
in  the  days  of  yore,  and  Jesus  and  His  apostles  glided 
over  them,  sometimes  calm  as  a  summer  day,  but  ever 
■and  anon  tossed  by  the  tempest,  and  plowed  by  the  cy- 
clone. This  beautiful  sea  is  16  1-2  miles  long,  8  miles 
wide  and  150  feet  deep,  interpenetrated  by  the  river 
Jordan,  entering  from  the  North,  flowing  through  it  the 
long  way  -and  of  course,  lost  in  it  and  flowing  out  to- 
wards the  South,  pursuing  its  undeviating  way  till  lost 
in  the  Dead  Sea,  which  lies  between  great  Mt.  Pisgah  on 
the  East  and  the  Wilderness  of  Judea  on  the  West.  The 
Sea  of  Galilee  is  100  feet  below  the  Mediterranean,  i.  e., 
the  level  of  the  watery  world.  Consequently  the  great 
West  winds  frequently  dip  so  low  when  passing  over  it 
and  impinged  against  the  Eastern  highlands  with  so 
great  impetuosity  as  to  whirl  round  against  the  shore  in- 
stead of  rising  the  mountains,  the  effect  is  to  produce  a 
cyclone,  seriously  perilous  to  navigators.  Consequently 
we  frequently  read  in  the  New  Testament  striking  allu- 
sions to  these  storms.  While  traveling  on  the  land  we 
are  frequently  warned  by  guides  and  guide-books  to  look 
out  for  storms  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  My  last  tour  was 
in  1899 ;  the  Emperor  of  Germany  having  preceded  me 
the  preceding  year.     I  everywhere  saw  his  foot  prints. 


Jesus  Fi'eachiny  in  Galilee.  53 

Having  learned  that  an  excellent  boat  had  been  built  in 
Beyrout,  Syria,  and  transported  thither  for  his  special 
accommodation;  we  called  for  it  on  arrival,  and  secur- 
ing the  use  of  it,  embarked  and  sailed  all  around  the 
sea,  75  miles  encompassed,  feeling  secure  from  the 
storms,  as  we  realize  the  presence  of  Him  who  com- 
manded the  winds  and  the  waves,  "and  there  was  a  great 
calm." 

In  the  days  of  Jesus  that  sea  was  literally  environed 
with  cities  crowding  the  shore  on  all  sides.  During  the 
ages  of  desolation  they  all  perished.  Among  the  inspir- 
ing omens  of  the  Millennial  dawn  and  our  Lord^s 
speedy  return,  is  the  revival  of  these  cities  forever  im- 
mortal in  the  inspired  history  of  the  Incarnate  God, 
"and  Jesus  returned  in  the  dynamite  of  the  Spirit  into 
Galilee,"  Luke  4:14.  "And  when  the  Lord  knew  that 
the  Pharisees  heard,  that  Jesus  is  making  and  baptizing 
more  disciples  than  John,  (indeed  Jesus  Himself  was  not 
baptizing,  but  his  disciples)  He  left  Judea  and  went 
back  again  into  Galilee."  Jno.  4  :l-3.  The  Greek  positive- 
ly reveals  that  Jesus  never  did  baptize  any  person  with 
water,  but  his  disciples  did  it  on  a  grand  scale ;  it  being 
the  province  of  Jesus  only  to  baptize  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  fire.  John  the  Baptist,  the  greatest  of  the 
Prophets,  had  shaken  Israel  from  center  to  circumfer- 
ence, besides  sending  an  electric  shock  through  the  Gen- 
tile world.  When  he  baptized  Jesus,  thus  publicly  in- 
augurating Him  into  His  official  Messiahship,  when 
pursuant  to  His  consecration  and  prayer  the  Holy  Ghost 
descended  on  Him  from  Heaven,  filling  and  dynamiting 
Him  for  His  Messianic  Ministry,  such  was  the  power 
and  magnetism  attending  his  preaching  that  multiplied 


5-i  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

thousands  gathered  about  Him,  hanging  spell-bound 
day  after  day,  charmed  and  electrified  by  such  preaching 
as  mortal  ears  had  never  heard.  When  John  the  Bap- 
tist pointed  Him  out  and  shouted  aloud,  "Behold  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  tiie  world," 
there  was  a  general  rally  of  his  disciples  on  the  track  of 
Jesus.  In  Judeaism  water  baptism  always  played  a  much 
more  conspicuous  part  than  the  people  in  our  day  appre- 
hend. AMien  Moses  sprinlvled  all  the  people  at  the  Tab- 
ernacle door  upon  the  ratification  of  the  Sinaic  cove- 
nant, Heb.  9:19;  5  :10,  "which  stood  only  in  meats  and 
drink  and  diverse  baptism,"  says  he  baptized  them. 
Israel  at  that  time  numbered  three  millions.  Hence 
Moses  was  a  great  baptizer.  AYhenever  a  Jew  had  con- 
tracted ceremonial  defilement  (by  contact  with  unclean 
animals,  dead  bodies,  lepers,  et  cetera)  he  was  prohibited 
from  the  tabernacle  service  till  some  ceremonially  clean 
person  could  sprinkle  on  him  the  water  of  separation, 
thus  purifying  him.  This  law  of  purification  specified 
that  the  blood  of  a  spotless  and  blemishless  red  heifer 
(which  symbolizes  the  atonement)  should  be  dropped 
into  water,  thus  constituting  it  a  purifying  element.  As 
it  would  be  expensive  to  slaughter  the  red  heifer  when- 
ever they  needed  the  purifying  element,  the  law  provided 
that  the  animal  should  utterly  be  consumed  and  the  ash- 
es used  as  a  substitute  for  the  blood.  Thus  you  see  a 
Jew  might  be  baptized  a  thousand  times  in  his  life  or 
even  more  if  he  had  contracted  ceremonial  defilement  so 
frequently.  Hence  the  repentance  of  John  the  Baptist 
signified  a  new  departure  in  the  divine  life,  and  was  per- 
tinently confirmed  by  baptism.  While  John's  ministry 
belonged  to  the  old  dispensation ,  as  he  was  the  greatest 


Jesus  FrcachiiKj  in  Galilee.  55 

and  the  last  of  the  prophets  and  even  more,  being  the 
precursor  and  introducer  of  the  Savior,  he  baptized  all 
who  professed  repentance  under  his  ministry  and  faith 
in  Him  who  was  to  come.  Yet  the  ministry  of  Jesus 
being  a  decisive  onward  movement  from  John  required 
John's  converts  and  all  others  to  confess  their  faith  in 
Him  by  water  baptism,  which  was  administered  by  his 
disciples.  The  mighty  swell  of  popular  enthusiasm  be- 
ing turned  from  John  to  Jesus,  constrained  Him  to  leave 
Judea  and  return  to  Galilee.  "After  two  days  He  went 
from  thence  and  departed  into  Galilee,"  for  Jesus  Him- 
self witnessed  that  a  prophet  has  no  honor  in  his  own 
country.  Galilee  was  His  own  country.  You  see  He 
went  off  thither  to  avoid  the  swelling  tide  of  popular 
enthusiasm  attending  His  ministry  in  Judea ;  evidently 
mvch  augmented  by  the  happy  introduction  which  John 
had  given  Him,  as  well  as  the  tremendous  boon  of  dis- 
ciples which  John  turned  after  him,  w*hen  he  abnegated 
the  Messiahship  for  himself  and  boldly  certified  that 
Jesus  was  truly  the  Shiloh  of  prophecy.  For  the  above 
considerations  Jesus  left  Judea  very  early  in  His  minis- 
try, and  went  back  to  his  native  Galilee,  where  he  had 
heen  brought  up,  and  they  would  not  raise  so  great  ex- 
citement over  Him  and  He  might  enjoy  comparative 
quietude  in  which  to  prosecute  His  work.  If  he  had  re- 
mained in  Judea,  the  constant  trend  of  the  enthusiastic 
multitudes  was  to  crown  Him  King  of  the  Jews,  as  al- 
ready they  had  endured  the  galling  yoke  of  Eoman  des- 
potism thirty  years.  At  Jerusalem  He  was  in  constant 
perturbation  between  two  fires.  His  friends  on  tiptoe  to 
crown  Him  King,  and  the  High  Priests  looking  upon 
Him  with  the  jealousy  and  fear  of  an  official  rival,  plot- 


56  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

ting  to  kill  Him.  He  had  made  them  awfully  mad  by 
the  autocracy  He  exercised  in  cleansing  the  Temple. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  restraint  of  an  Unseen  Power, 
they  would  have  killed  Him  at  the  time  He  actually  ex- 
ercised the  prerogative  of  supreme  potentate.  It  was  not 
only  necessary  that  He  should  have  time  and  opportunity 
to  preach  His  gospel  and  corroborate  His  Messiahship 
by  miracles;  but  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  Him  to 
have  time  so  thoroughly  to  teach  His  apostles  the  great 
truths  of  His  Kingdom  that  they  might  thoroughly  re- 
ceive and  'appropriate  them,  preparatory  for  the  great 
work  of  the  world's  evangelization,  thus  establishing  the 
Gospel  Church  in  all  the  earth.  In  view  of  these  stu- 
pendous realities,  he  bade  adieu  to  Jerusalem,  the  resort 
of  the  multitudes  and  head-quarters  of  the  hierarchy, 
and  went  away  into  Galilee  where  His  own  countrymen 
would  not  make  so  much  ado  over  Him,  and  the  High 
Priests  would  rest  in  the  quietude  of  their  palaces  in 
Jerusalem.  N.  B.  In  the  utter  absence  of  all  mail  facili- 
ties, news  travels  slowly.  On  arrival  in  Cana  of  Gali- 
lee a  certain  royalist  from  Capernaum,  forty  miles  dis- 
tant, importunes  Him  to  come  and  heal  his  son.  Jesus 
said  to  him,  "Go,  thy  son  liveth."  In  his  anxiety  he  de- 
parts without  delay,  traveling  on  foot,  or  perhaps  riding 
a  donkey  all  night.  The  servants  meet  him  on  arrival  in 
the  early  morning,  cheering  him  on  the  good  news  of 
his  son^s  convalescence.  Upon  inquiry  they  certify,  "at 
1  p.  m.  yesterday  the  fever  left  him.'^  Then  he  responds, 
"Why,  that  is  the  very  time  Jesfus  said.  Go,  thy  son  liv- 
eth."  The  effect  of  this  miracle  was  to  give  a  grand 
boon  to  his  own  faith  which  had  hitherto  been  some- 
what weak,  and  convert  his  whole  family,  John  4 :46-54. 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  57 

He  now  goes  from  Cana  to  Nazareth,  His  native  city, 
only  five  miles  West.  As  already  specified,  He  came  in 
the  dynamite  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  (Power  which  is  the 
only  definition  of  gospel  in  the  Bible,  is  dynamite  in  the 
original. )  Under  His  first  sermon  in  that  old  synagogue 
where  He  had  worshiped  thirty  years,  there  is  such  an 
awful  explosion  that  they  break  up  in  a  row,  the  mob 
superseding  the  religious  meeting,  determined  to  kill 
Him,  and  would  have  murdered  Him  at  that  early  day 
had  not  the  Divinity  came  to  the  relief  of  the  humanity, 
in  order  to  prolong  its  life  till  He  could  establish  His 
kingdom  on  the  earth.  Such  is  the  normal  effect  of 
"preaching  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  Heav- 
en." The  churches  are  now  crying  peace !  We  have  no 
objection  to  holiness,  but  only  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  preached  by  the  evangelists?  Beware!  When  the 
dead  church  has  no  objection  to  holiness,  rest  assured 
it  has  lost  its  dynamite,  and  consequently  no  longer 
blows  up  dead  formality,  hollow  hyprocrisy  and  worldly 
compromise.  They  demand  of  us  to  preach  in  such  a 
way  that  it  will  not  shake  the  devil  and  the  world  out  of 
the  church.  On  this  line  Jesus  signally  failed ;  they  not 
only  raised  a  hubbub  and  turned  Him  out  of  the  church, 
but  did  their  best  to  kill  Him.  If  you  do  not  preach 
in  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  you  are  neither  in  gospel 
order,  nor  in  the  succession  of  Jesus.  If  you  are  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  you  fear  neither  man  nor  devils, 
and  wonderful  things  will  happen  where  you  go.  Do  not 
be  surprised  if  you  provoke  stones,  dirt,  eggs  and  mobs. 
God  help  us  all  to  be  true  and  preach  like  Jesus,  in  the 
dynamite  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  looking  out  for  explosions 
and  be  prepared  for  the  consequences.    When  they  ran 


58  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

Him  aAvay  from  :N"azareth,  His  native  city,  He  weni: 
to  Capernaum  on  the  Northern  bank  of  the  Galilean  Sea, 
and  made  that  the  center  of  all  His  ministerial  peregri- 
nations. James,  John,  Peter,  Andrew,  Philip,  Matthew 
and  perhaps  others  lived  there,  a  distance  of  about  45 
miles.  Luke  4:16-31.  He  now  begins  His  ministerial 
work  in  his  new  field,  peregrinating  along  the  Northern 
shore  of  the  sea  he  recognizes  Peter  and  his  brother 
Andrew,  in  a  ship  prosecuting  their  daily  livelihood  by 
fishing.  Having  preached  a  sermon  from  Peter's  ship 
to  the  multitude  standing  on  the  shore,  winding  up,  said, 
"shove  out  into  the  deep  and  spread  your  nets  for  a 
draught.''  Peter  responds  stating  that  they  had  toiled  all 
night  and  caught  nothing,  and  there  were  certainly  no 
fish  about  there  as  the  night  is  a  better  time  to  catch 
them  than  the  day;  but  through  courtesy  to  Him  they 
spread  the  net  and  caught  a  vast  school  of  fishes,  so  that 
the  net  began  to  break.  Then  he  and  Andrew,  his 
brother,  beckoned  to  John  and  James,  their  partners  in 
the  business,  to  come  to  their  relief.  The  result  was 
they  immediately  gathered  so  vast  quantities  of  fishes 
that  both  the  ships  began  to  sink  under  the  intolerable 
weight.  Then  Peter,  characteristic  of  quick  preception 
and  sprightly  intuition,overwhelmed  with  the  realiz-ation 
that  he  was  in  the  presence  of  a  superhuman  being,  con- 
victed, appalled  and  panic  stricken,  beseeches  Him  to  de- 
part from  him,  confessing  his  sinfulness.  Peter  had 
met  Jesus  at  John's  baptism  and  became  his  follower,but 
was  not  yet  sanctified.  Hence  the  presence  of  Jesus 
flashed  through  him  the  light  of  the  Supernatural  and 
the  revelation  of  his  inbred  sin. 

We  ought  to  be  so  like  Jesus  and  so  filled  with  the 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  59 

Spirit  that  all  sin,  actual  and  original,  will  be  revealed 
and  rebuked  by  our  mere  presence.  The  saddest  phe- 
nomenon of  the  fallen  churches  and  backslidden  clergy 
of  the  present  day,  is  their  congeniality  and  conprater- 
nity  with  a  wicked  world,  mournfully  illustrating  the 
ancient  proverb,  "similibus  similes  congreganter,  birds 
of  a  feather  flock  together/'  Tobacco  using,  frolicking, 
theatre-going,  lodge-attending  professors,convict  nobody. 
They  are  down  on  a  level  with  the  world,  whose  votaries 
find  congeniality  with  them,  Luke  11 :1-11.  Now  Jesus 
meets  a  man  in  the  synagogue  in  Capernaum  possessed 
by  an  unclean  spirit,  i.  e.,  a  devil  of  impurity,  which  is 
so  common  at  the  present  day.  The  demon  recognizes 
Jesus;  as  you  know  they  are  fallen  angels,  and  had 
known  Him'  in  Heaven,  for  He  cast  them  out  when  they 
sinned.  God  never  created  the  devil,  a  sinner  or  a  ser- 
pent. He  created  angels;  some  of  them  fell  and  became 
devils.  He  created  man;  he  fell  and  became  sinner.  He 
created  the  Nah'ash,  the  most  intelligent  of  all  animals ; 
he  became  instrumental  in  the  abduction  and  ruin  of 
humanity,  and  was  transformed  into  the  snake  by  di- 
vine retribution.  This  is  the  first  of  the  many  denomi- 
acal  ejectments  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  and  with  all 
other  similar  cases  vividly  illustrates  his  power  over  all 
devils,  to  cast  them  out.  We  have  no  evidence  that  he 
ever  cast  out  a  demon  before  the  Holy  Ghost  came  on 
him  and  filled  Him  at  the  Jordan.  This  is  the  great 
test  of  your  spiritual  majority,  i.  e.,  entire  sanctification, 
confirmed  by  the  reception  and  indwelling  Holy  Spirit. 
He  has  power  over  all  evil  spirits,  and  is  ready  to  use  you 
to  cast  them  out.  This  is  really  your  climacteric  con- 
firmation that  you  enjoy  the  experience  of  full  salva- 


60  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

tion,  i.  e.,  that  you  have  power  to  cast  out  demons,  and 
are  consequently  efficient  as  a  soul  saver. 

It  is  in  vain  to  claim  the  experience  of  entire  sanc- 
tification  in  the  absence  of  the  indwelling  Holy  Spirit, 
who  will  always  reveal  His  presence  by  casting  out  de- 
mons, as  the  people  are  free,  the  demons  will  never  be 
cast  out  till  conviction  has  so  done  its  work,  that  the 
demonized  really  desire  and  seek  this  great  deliverance. 
In  this  case  the  demons  convulsed  and  lacerated,  caus- 
ing great  excitement  among  the  people. 

I  am  just  now  out  of  eleven  camp-meetings  the 
present  year,  (1901),  in  whicli  I  almost  constantly  wit- 
nessed the  work  of  demoniacalment;  and  in  many  in- 
stances quite  similar  to  the  case  here  described.  Mark 
1 :21-28.  Now  we  have  a  notable  miracle  of  healing 
Peter^s  mother-in-law,  who  was  afflicted  with  a  great 
fever.  The  healing  was  quick  and  complete,  so  that  she 
arose  at  once  and  proceeded  with  her  domestic  work, 
ministering  to  the  comfort  of  her  guests,  the  house  being 
the  honored  abode  of  Jesus  through  the  kind  hospitality 
of  the  inmates.  Hence  we  see  the  ministry  of  our  Lord 
conspicuously  characterized  by  his  benefactions  in  be- 
half of  the  soul,  casting  out  the  filthy,  degrading  and 
tormenting  demons,  and  in  the  interim,  healing  all  dis- 
eased. He  positively  commissioned  His  disciples  to  go 
and  do  this  work,  i  e.,  cast  out  demons  and  heal  the  sick. 
All  demons  are  not  cast  out,  not  because  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  not  present,  able  and  willing  to  do  it,  but  because 
submission  and  faith  on  the  part  of  the  subject  are  de- 
fective. For  a  similar  reason  diseases  are  not  always 
healed.  The  word  of  Jesus  in  reference  to  the  body  is 
just  as  explicit  as  appertaining  to  the  soul.     "Himself 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee,  61 

took  our  diseases  and  carried  our  sicknesses/'  Matt.  7 : 
17 ;  Is.liii  :4.  Our  Lord's  word,  "as  your  faith  is  so  be 
it  unto  you"  is  perfectly  reliable  whether  appertaining 
to  soul  or  body.  In  all  of  my  travels  I  see  diseases  de- 
part from  the  sick,  while  we  pray  for  them  and  anoint 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  Jas.  5  :14.  We  must  re- 
member that  the  healings  we  receive  in  this  life  are  in 
the  interest  of  the  final  and  perfect  healing  which  will 
take  mortality  out  of  this  body,  when  it  will  rise  in  the 
transfiguration  glory.  It  is  certainly  our  privilege  to  be 
healed  till  we  finish  our  work  on  the  earth  and  the  Lord 
gets  ready  to  take  us  to  heaven.  When  that  time  ar- 
rives, we  will  have  no  faith  to  be  healed,  then  the  Lord 
will  give  us  heaven  which  is  infinitively  better  than 
health.  Rom.  7 :11.  "If  the  Spirit  of  Him  who  raised 
up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwells  in  you.  He  that  raised 
up  Christ  Jesus  from  the  dead  will  also  quicken  your 
mortal  bodies  by  His  spirit  dwelling  in  you."  This 
beautiful  and  wonderful  scripture  is  really  the  key  to 
divine  healing.  As  the  soul  is  infinitely  more  than  the 
body,  the  blessing  of  healing,  normally  belongs  to  the 
sanctified;  however  it  is  not  confined  to  them.  If  God 
did  not  heal  the  wicked,  they  would  soon  all  be  dead. 
When  we  are  sanctified  wholly,  then  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwells  in  this  body,  using  it  as  his  house,  my  soul  being 
unutterably  blessed  with  His  heavenly  companionship. 
Therefore,  responsive  to  my  faith,  He  will  keep  this 
house  in  repair  so  long  as  He  wants  me  to  live  in  it.  If 
a  breach  appears  in  the  wall,  the  roof,  the  floor,  or  any 
other  part  of  your  house,  you  proceed  at  once  to  repair 
it.  But  the  time  will  come  when  you  quit  repairing 
your  house ;   then  all  your  neighbors  know  that  you  are 


62  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

going  to  move  out  of  it  into  a  new  one.  I  am  now  sixty- 
eight  years  old.  Since  the  Lord  sanctified  me  thirty- 
three  years  ago  I  have  committed  to  Him  my  body  for 
keeping  and  healing.  He  has  healed  it  repeatedly,  re- 
sponsive to  my  faith.  But  if  He  tarrieth  and  does  not 
send  an  angel  for  me,  the  time  is  very  near  when  I  will 
have  no  body  to  be  healed,  because  it  will  be  worn  out 
and  no  longer  worth  healing.  When  my  faith  for  the 
healing  of  my  body  shall  fail  I  expect  my  faith  for  an 
upward  flight  to  receive  new  impetus,  responsive  to 
which  I  will  joyfully  move  out  of  this  old,  dilapidated 
house  into  the  building  of  G-od,  not  made  with  hands, 
eternaland  in  the  heavens.  Jesus  neither  cast  demons  out 
of  the  soul,  nor  diseases  out  of  the  body  till  He  passed 
out  of  childhood  into  manhood,  i.  e.,  reached  His  ma- 
jority and  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  whose  power 
(Gr.,  dynamite)  He  cast  out  the  demons,  healed  the 
sick,  cleansed  the  lepers  and  raised  the  dead.  You  see 
the  super-eminent  importance  that  we  should  be  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  not  only  for  our  own  immortal  in- 
terest, but  that  we  may  prove  His  humble  instruments 
in  the  salvation  of  the  demonized  and  the  healing  of  the 
sick.  Infants  are  incompetent  to  perform  these  mighty 
works,  fraught  with  interest  incalculaljle,  to  a  suifering, 
wicked  world.  We  are  all  in  spiritual  infancy  till  we  re- 
ceive the  Holy  Ghost,  who  dwells  in  none  but  the  wholly 
sanctified.  He  abides  with  the  regenerated,  but  does  not 
dwell  in  them  (John  1-i  :17). 

Now,  the  inspired  historians  inform  us  that  "Jesus 
went  round  through  all  Galilee  teaching  in  the  syna- 
gogue, and  healing  all  diseases  and  every  malady  among 
the  people.     His  fame  went  throughout  all   Syria   (a 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilei.  63 

great  country  on  the  border  of  G-alilee) ;  and  they 
brought  to  Him  all  the  sick,  possessed  with 
various  diseases  and  torments,  the  demonized, 
the  lunatics  and  the  paralytics,  and  many  mul- 
titudes followed  Him  from  Galilee,  from  Decapolis, 
from  Jerusalem,  from  Judea,  and  from  beyond  Jordan" 
(Matt.  4:23-25).  The  notable  cases  of  healing  the  no- 
bleman's son  and  Peter's  mother-in-law,  and  casting  out 
the  demon  in  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum,  and  doubt- 
less other  parallel  cases  not  mentioned,  swept  the  whole 
country-,  and  even  heathen  Syria,  with  enthusiasm  utter- 
ly illimitable.  The  whole  country  arose  on  tip-toe, 
bringing  the  poor  sufferers  from  all  points  of  the  com- 
pass and  laying  them  down  at  His  feet.  Xow  a  man,  as 
Luke  says,  ^^full  of  leprosy  comes  to  Him  entreating 
Him  and  worshiping,  kneeling  down  before  him,  saying 
to  Him,  If  you  may  will  it,  you  are  al^le  to  cleanse  me. 
Jesus  being  moved  with  compassion,  reached  out  His 
hand  to  him  and  says  to  him,  I  will  it :  be  thou  com- 
pletely cleansed  this  moment.''  The  aorist  tense,  im- 
perative mood  and  passive  voice  all  abundantly  justify 
this  strong  translation.  The  inspired  narrative  says  that 
the  leprosy  then  and  there  departed  from  him.  Hence, 
pursuant  to  the  Levitical  Law,  Jesus  sent  him  to  the 
priest,  whose  office  it  was  to  diagnose  the  leper^adjudicate 
his  clean9ing,offeT  a  sacrifice  and  become  a  witness  to  the 
people  on  His  behalf,  permitting  him  to  come  into  the 
sanctuary  of  the  Lord.  The  ejectment  of  demons  is  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  each  being  possessed  of  one  or 
more.  The  healing  of  diseases  is  the  blessing  for  the 
body.  We  never  hear  a  mention  made  of  healing  a  leper, 
but  always  his  cleansing.     Because  leprosy,  while  it  is 


64  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

really  the  most  loathsome,  terrible  and  incurable  disease, 
it  is  a  great  and  conspicuous  symbol  of  inbred  sin,  the 
great  and  awful  disease  of  the  soul,  which  is  so  infinitely 
more  important  than  the  body  that  the  latter  is  some- 
what thrown  into  eclipse  in  the  inspired  exegesis.  It  is 
a  significant  fact  that  everything  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
is  still  prevalent  in  the  Holy  Land,  thus  wonderfully 
corroborating  revealed  truth.  The  reason  why  leprosy  is 
utterly  incurable  is  because  it  is  a  blood  trouble,  every 
corpuscle  being  affected  by  it.  Heal  it  in  one  place,  and 
it  breaks  out  in  another.  Tliis  man  had  it  all  over  him. 
and  was  consequently  a  loathsome,  living  death.  The 
reason  why  the  lepers  are  all  delegated  to  their  own  mis- 
erable quarters  and  prohibited  from  society  is  because 
of  the  awful,  horrific,  stenchy  loathsomeness  of  the  dis- 
ease. Since  leprosy  is  a  blood  trouble,  nothing  but  a 
blood  remedy  can  possibly  reach  it.  Therefore  the  blood 
of  Jesus  is  the  only  elixir  that  can  possibly  expurgate 
the  leprosy  of  inbred  sin  out  of  the  human  soul,  which 
is  the  indispensable  antecedent  to  the  incoming  Holy 
Ghost.  Hence  the  cleansing  of  the  leper  constantly 
means  the  great  negative  work  of  entire  sanctification^ 
which  must  precede  the  glorious  positive  experience,  i. 
e.,  the  repletion  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  therefore,  our  spir- 
itual majority  which  we  enjoy  in  the  real  experience  in 
the  full  salvation,  both  negative  and  positive,  prepares 
us  for  the  ejectment  of  the  demons  out  of  the  sinner, 
the  expurgation  of  the  leprosy  of  inbred  sin  out  of  the 
unsanctified,  infilling  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  heal- 
ing of  all  bodily  ailments.  Oh,  what  a  wonderful  field 
of  usefulness  for  the  truly  sanctified  in  this  poor  world 
of  sin  and  suffering !     Oh,  the  infinite  value  of  Spirit- 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  65 

filled  people,  going  about  doing  good!  Eeader,  my 
prayer  to  God  is,  that  you  may  accept  the  situation  and 
prove  a  blessing  to  thousands,  converting  sinners,  sanc- 
tifying believers,  and  healing  the  sick. 

Inspiration  at  this  point  notifies  us  that  Jesus  charg- 
ed the  leper  not  to  tell  it ;  but  the  news  was  too  good 
for  him  to  keep.  He,  with  many  others,  spread  it  abroad 
wheresoever  they  went,  until  Jesus  had  to  quit  the  cities 
and  go  into  the  desert,  whither  many  also  flocked  to 
Him.  \Yhj  was  this  ?  Because  the  normal  trend  of  this 
great  popular  excitement  was  to  enthuse  the  people  till 
they  would  have  rallied  and  crowned  Him  king  of  the 
Jews,  in  which  case  the  Romans  would  have  killed  Him, 
as  they  finally  did,  crucifying  Him  under  this  very  alle- 
gation—"This  is  the  king  of  the  Jews.''    ' 

]^ow  at  Capernaum,  where  He  abode  in  the  house 
of  Peter,  a  paralytic  is  carried  to  Him  by  four  friends, 
each  one  at  the  corner  of  the  bed.  The  immense  crowds 
filled  the  house  and  the  yard,  where  Jesus  is  perform- 
ing His  mighty  works;  therefore  the  men  ascend  the 
house,  open  a  window  in  the  flat  roof  and  let  down  the 
bed  containing  the  paralytic  till  it  descends  into  His 
very  presence.  Now  Jesus  instantaneously  heals  the 
poor  victim  responsive  to  the  faith  of  the  'four  friends 
who  carry  him,  at  the  same  time  granting  him  free  abso- 
lution from  all  his  sins.  This  notable  case  of  bodily 
healing  and  salvation  filled  the  multitude  with  enthusi- 
asm (Mark  2:3-12). 

The  first  year  of  our  Lord's  ministry  has  passed 
away  and  the  second  Pasover  has  arrived,  the  multiplied 
myriads  of  Abraham's  children  are  again  gathering  into 
the  Holy  Campus  at  Jerusalem.    Meanwhile  He  visited 


66  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  Pool  of  Betliesda,  which,  is  near  tlie  north  gate  of 
the  Temple  and  the  east  gate  of  the  city,  at  that  time 
called  the  Sheep  Gate,  because  it  was  a  great  sheep  mar- 
ket ;  but  now  called  St.  Stephen's  Gate,  because  it  is  said 
that  the  mob  dragged  him  out  through  it  and  stoned 
him  to  death  in  front  of  it.  This  pool  was  a  noted  sani- 
tarium at  that  time,  and  quite  a  resort  for  invalids, 
among  whom  was  a  man  notorious  for  his  long  waiting, 
thirty-eight  years  alread}'  having  rolled  away  since  there 
he  lay  awaiting  the  sanitary  effects  of  the  waters,  as  the 
people  believed  made  efficacious  by  the  visit  of  an  angel 
ever  and  anon.  When  Jesus  bade  him,  "Take  up  thy 
bed  and  walk,''  instantaneously  and  miraculously  healed, 
he  not  only  carried  his  bed,  but  leaped  and  skipped  with 
juvenile  elasticit};,  exciting  the  venom  of  the  clergy  into 
a  rage  because  Jesus  healed  him  on  the  Sabbath.  When 
the  church  grieves  away  the  Holy  Spirit  and  retro- 
gresses into  dead  formality,  she  always  gets  very  particu- 
lar and  even  tyrannical  on  nonessentials.  That  explains 
the  existence  of  six  thousand  religious  denominations, 
this  day  claiming  to  be  true  followers  of  the  meek  and 
lowly  Jesus.  All  these  provisions  are  on  matters  which 
never  were  essential  to  salvation,  i.  e.,  holy  days,  water 
baptism,  and  a  diversity  of  creedistic  dogmata,  which 
never  did  have  anything  to  do  with  the  salvation  of  the 
soul.  God  requires  you  yourself  to  be  holy.  When  you 
are  holy,  you  will  have  seven  holy  days  every  w^eek. 
There  is  but  one  baptism  known  in  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion (Eph.  4:5),  that  is  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  fire,  which  Jesus  gives  (Matt.  3:11).  The  true 
unity  of  Christians  is  in  the  personal  and  experimental 
salvation   which  Jesus  gives,  and  Jesus  responded  to 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  6^ 

them,  ^^Even  now  my  Father  worketh  and  I  work*'  ( Jno. 
5:17).  If  God  did  not  work  on  Sunday,  the  sun  would 
cease  to  shine,  the  rivers  to  flow,  the  crops  to  grow,  the 
blood  to  circulate,  and  the  heart  to  beat.  Just  as  God 
carries  on  His  work  all  the  Sabbath  day,  so  His  people 
are  to  labor  indefatigably  to  save  souls,  heal  the  sick. 
edify  the  saints  and  build  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
"Truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  you,  that  the  one  hearing  my 
word  and  believing  on  Him  that  sent  me  hath  eternal 
life,  and  doth  not  come  into  judgment  but  hath  passed 
out  of  death  into  life"  (v.  24).  The  saints  have  their 
judgment  in  this  life,  and  will  go  up  with  the  Lord  in 
the  rapture  and  be  associated  with  Him  in  the  final 
judgment  (1  Cor.  6:2).  He  here  makes  a  beautiful  al- 
lusion to  the  testimony  which  John  the  Baptist  had 
nobly  given,  comfirmatory  of  His  Messiahship,  at  the 
same  time  reminding  them  of  the  evanescence  which 
characterized  that  bright  and  shining  light. 

Having  attended  the  Passover,  the  greatest  of  all  the 
symbolic  institutions  of  the  Old  Testament,  He  speedily 
returns  with  His  disciples  to  Galilee.  On  their  journey. 
w^hile  walking  through  a  field  of  ripe  barley  (as  this  was 
about  the  firsit  of  ^lay,  it  is  ioo  early  for  the  wheat),  the 
disciples  being  hungry,  proceed  to  shell  out  some  of  the 
beautiful  ripe  heads  in  their  hand's  and  eat  them  while 
prosecuting  their  journey.  Again  the  pharisees  attack 
them  for  desecrating  the  Sabbath  (not  for  eating  the 
barley,  which  the  law  of  Moses  allowed  them  to  do) 
(Deut  23:25);  to  whom  Jesus  responded,  "But  I  say 
unto  you  that  there  is  one  here  greater  than  the  Tem- 
ple," having  already  referred  to  the  case  of  David  on  his 
flight  from  Saul,  entering  the  Temple  at  Nob,  the  old 


68  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

home  of  Melchizedek,  and  eating  the  shew-bread,  which 
was  lawful  for  none  but  the  priests  to  eat.  "If  you  had 
known  what  tliis  is,  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice, 
you  would  not  have  condemned  the  innocent."  Mercy  is 
the  normal  fruit  of  love,  hence  we  see  that  'Our  Lord's  re- 
ligion is  all  love>  exhibiting  the  two  hemispheres ;  piety, 
which  is  love  to  God,  and  philanthropy,  which  is  love  to 
.nan.  False  religions  are  selfish,  carnal,  worldly,  exclu- 
sive and  condemnatory  of  all  who  do  not  chance  to  pro- 
nounce their  shibboleth  for  "The  Son  of  Man  is  Lord  of 
the  Sabbath"  (Matt.  12:1-8).  This  climaxes  all  quib- 
bles and  controversies  on  the  Sabbath.  If  you  are  truly 
corporative  with  Christ  in  the  salvation  with  a  lost 
world,  Sunday  will  be  your  busiest  day. 

The  Lord  has  again  arrived  in  Galilee,  having  en- 
tered upon  the  second  year  of  His  ministry  at  the  Pass- 
over. You  see  how  the  high  priest  and  pharisees  hound- 
ed Him  all  the  time.  He  was  in  Jerusalem.  As  they 
are  scattered  throughout  Galilee  and  all  the  Hebrew 
world,  of  course  they  continue  to  lie  in  wait  and  perse- 
cute Him  in  Galilee,  as  well  as  in  Judea ;  yet  there  was  a 
great  difference  in  their  popular  influence  and  their  fa- 
cilities of  manipulating  the  rabble,  as  Jerusalem  was 
their  headquarters  and  the  center  of  their  power  and  in- 
fluence, both  ecclesiastical  and  secular;  especially  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  place  was  thronged  with  multi- 
tudes attending  the  great  festivals — Passover  April  14, 
Pentecost  June  5,  Tabernacles  September  and  Dedica- 
tion in  December — evidently  from  these  considerations, 
as  our  Lord  said  (John  4:44),  He  sought  the  more 
quiet  and  thinly  populated  regions  of  Galilee  as  the  field 
of  His  wonderful  ministry  and  the  area  in  which  He 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  69 

might  teach  His  disciples,  organize  His  ministry,  and 
set  up  the  Kingdom  of  Gospel  Grace. 

On  His  arrival  in  Galilee  He  is  again  attacked  by  the 
scribes  and  pharisees  for  healing  the  man  with  a  with- 
ered hand  on  the  Sabbath.  "Looking  around  upon  them 
with  anger,  being  grieved  over  the  hardness  of  heart,  he 
says  to  the  man,  Eeach  forth  thy  hand.  He  reached 
out,  and  his  hand  was  restored  like  the  other"  (MaiA 
3  :5).  Here  we  see  the  solution  of  Eph.  5  :2^,  be  angry 
and  sin  not.  The  passages  are  parallel,  the  same  word 
for  anger  occurring  in  both.  In  the  former  we  see  it 
simply  means  holy  grief;  the  more  holy  you  are,  the 
more  you  are  grieved  over  all  sin.  John  Wesley  says, 
"The  world  fails  to  discriminate  between  holy  grief  and 
carnal  anger."  Hence  a  true  consecration  resigns  us  to 
all  sorts  of  misunderstandings  and  misjudgments  by 
the  world  for  Christ's  sake.  "And  immediately  the 
Pharisees,  having  gone  out  with  the  Herodians,  took 
counsel  against  Him,  that  they  would  kill  Him."  Here 
we  see  illustrated  the  unity  of  Satan's  kingdom  against 
God;  though  involved  in  infinite  turmoil  and  conflict 
among  themselves.  The  Pharisees  were  the  radical  wing 
of  the  loyal  Jewish  party,  most  inveterately  opposed  to 
Eoman  rule,  while  the  Herodians  were  a  political  party, 
headed  by  officers  under  the  Eoman  government;  hence 
these  two  parties  were  irreconcilably  hostile,  either  to 
the  other ;  yet  you  see  them  here  unite  in  their  counsel 
to  kill  Jesus.  Signally  does  history  repeat  itself.  What 
is  more  common  at  the  present  day,  than  to  see  warring 
sects  all  lay  down  their  cudgels  and  unite  against  the 
holiness  movement? 

"Behold  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen,  my  beloved, 


70  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

in  whom  my  soul  deliglitelli ;  I  will  put  my  Spirit  upon 
him,  and  he  shall  claim  judgment  to  the  Gentiles.  He 
will  not  strive  nor  scream,  nor  will  anyone  hear  his  voice 
in  the  streets ;  the  bruised  reed  will  he  not  break  and  the 
smoking  wick  he  will  not  extinguish,  until  he  may  send 
forth  judgment  into  victory.  In  his  name  will  the  Gen- 
tiles hope."  Matt.  12  :18-21.  Here  is  a  beautiful  allu- 
sion by  the  Prophet  Isaiah  to  the  Savior  in  His  two  ad- 
vents contra stively,  in  the  first,  meek  and  lowly,  unos- 
tentatious, going  about  doing  good,  not  breaking  the 
bruised  reed,  i.  e.,  not  crushing  the  broken-hearted  pen- 
itent, but  smiling  on  him  land  giving  him  glorious  vic- 
tory; nor  extinguishing  the  flickering  lamp-wick,  but 
pouring  in  the  oil  and  trimming  it  until  it  burns  up  in 
a  triumphant  flame.  Thus  he  is  the  condescending  Moli- 
fier  of  all  sorrows  and  Alleviator  of  all  woes,  while  in 
His  second  and  glorious  coming.  He  will  ride  trium- 
phantly over  all  His  foes  and  girdle  the  world  with  the 
glory  of  His  victory. 

We  now  reach  the  memorable  epoch  in  our  Lord-'s 
ministry  when,  on  the  Mt.  of  Beatitudes,  Avhich  over- 
hangs the  city  of  Capernaum,  He  selects  the  twelve  apos- 
tles, whom  He  honors  above  all  the  people  in  the  v/hole 
world  with  His  own  constant  companionship  and  the 
custodianship  of  the  divine  oracles  and  vehicles  through 
which  He  transmits  the  glorious  plan  of  salvation  to  all 
coming  generations.  We  have  their  catalogue  in  Matt. 
10 :2-4,  Mark  3  :13-19  and  Luke  6  :12-19.  Mark  14  says, 
"He  ordained  tw^elve,  that  they  may  be  with  Him,  and 
that  He  might  send  them  forth  to  preach,  and  to  have 
power  to  heal  diseases,  and  to  cast  out  demons."  We 
see  here  the  prominent  phases  of  the  Lord's  ministry 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  71 

provide  for  the  body  by  healing  diseases,  and  for  tiie  coal 
by  casting  out  the  demons.  !So  we  see  the  interests  oi 
the  soul  and  body  go  hand  in  hand.  The  word  ordained 
here  is  not  to  be  taken  in  the  acceptation  given  to  it 
at  the  present  day  by  the  ecclesiastical  organizations 
which  have  appropriated  it,  so  as  virtually  to  take  the 
Lord's  ministry  out  of  His  hands.  The  word  here  trans- 
lated ordained  has  no  such  a  meaning  as  modern  eccle- 
siasticisms  attach  to  it,  the  original  being  epoieese  doo- 
deka — He  made  twelve.  The  word  ordained  was  used  by 
King  James'  translators  to  sustain  the  institutions  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  they  were  members. 
The  E.  Y.  gives  just  one  more  passage  parallel  with  the 
above — John  15  :16 — "You  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I 
have  chosen  you,and  ordained  you  that  you  may  go  forth 
and  bear  fruit,  and  your  fruit  may  remain :  in  order  that 
whatsoever  you  may  ask  the  Father  in  my  name,  He  may 
give  it  unto  you.^'  In  this  Scripture  the  word  "ordained" 
translated  is  etheeha,  and  simply  means  "I  have  put  you 
in  your  place,"  not  giving  the  vaguest  information  of 
an}i:hing  like  modern  ecclesiastical  organization.  Acts 
14:23:  "Ordaining  unto  the  elders  in  every  church, 
praying  with  fastings  commended  them  to  the  Lord,  on 
whom  they  had  believed."  Here  "ordained"  occurs 
again  in  the  E.  Y.,  these  three  passages  being  all  that 
can  be  construed  to  authenticate  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion. This,  like  the  other  two,  signally  fails  to  give  any 
support  to  the  claims  and  usages  of  which  so  much  is 
made  in  modern  church  authority,  the  word  being  cheiro- 
tonusantes,  from  cheir,  the  hand,  and  tofieo,  to  reach  up. 
setting  forth  the  simple  fact  that  the  elders  were  elected 
by  reaching  up  the  hand.    We  really  have  no  case  in  the 


72  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles 

New  Testament  that  looks  like  ministry  of  organization, 
except  Acts  13  :3 — "Then,  fasting  and  praying  and  lay- 
ing hands  on  them,  they  sent  them  away/'  This  is  spok- 
en of  Barnabas  and  Paul  when  the  Holy  Ghost  moved 
the  church  at  Antioch  to  send  them  away  on  the  hrst 
missionary  tour  of  the  Apostolic  Church.  While  this 
service  is  very  appropriate  in  case  of  that  time  in  every 
age,  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  there  was  nothing  in  it 
after  the  order  of  the  organization  practiced  by  the 
churches  at  the  present  day.  Both  of  these  men  had 
been  preaching  in  the  gospel  church  about  ten  yearSj 
being  both  apostles  extraordinary.  Hence  we  find 
in  the  New  Testament  nothing  corresponding  with 
the  modern  ecclesiastical  organization,  which  becomes 
a  source  of  discouragement  among  a  truly  called  and 
sent  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

The  Man  Jesus  was  the  head  of  His  own  Church 
during  His  earthly  life.  He  predicted  that  the  people 
of  this  wicked  world,  and  especially  the  fallen  church, 
would  not  let  Him  live  in  it,  but  would  conspire  against 
Him  and  take  His  life.  In  His  boundless  and  unut- 
terable love,  to  keep  the  devil  from  thus  defeating  the 
plan  of  salvation.  He  told  them  He  would  go  away  when 
they  murdered  His  body,  and  send  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
has  no  human  body,  and  consequently  cannot  be  killed. 
He  positively  certifies  (John  16)  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
His  successor  on  the  earth,  to  carry  on  His  w^ork  till  He 
returns  in  His  glory.  Hence  practically  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  the  head  of  the  church,  making  some  apostles,  some 
prophets,  some  evangelists,  some  pastors  and  teachers 
unto  the  perfection  of  the  saints  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  into  the  edification  of  the  body  of  Christ  until 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  73 

we  may  all  arrive  into  the  unity  of  faith  and  of  the  per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God^  into  a  perfect  man, 
into  the  measure  of  a  st>ature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ 
in  order  that  we  may  no  longer  be  infants,  tossed  about 
and  carried  away  by  every  wind  of  teaching  at  the 
caprice  of  men  in  their  craftiness  unto  the  method  of 
delusion,  but'  speaking  the  truth  in  love  we  may  grow 
up  in  Him  in  all  things,  who  is  the  head,  Christ,  from 
whom  the  whole  body  assimilated  and  knitted  together 
from  every  joint  of  the  supply  according  to  the  working 
of  the  measure  of  every  part,  maketh  the  increase  of  the 
body  unto  the  edification  of  itself  in  divine  love  (Eph. 
4:11-16.  Thus  we  see  that  Christ  never  d'Cdicated  His 
church  to  any  human  succession.  The  apostle  is  the 
pioneer,  the  prophet  has  the  enduement  of  the  Spirit 
to  witness  for  Jesus  (Rev.  19:10).  The  evangelist  is 
the  fire-baptized  preacher,  hewing  his  way  through  the 
phalanx  of  Satan ;  the  teacher  is  the  faithful  instructor 
of  the  Lord's  disciples  in  His  precious  Word,  while  the 
pastor  is  the  diligent  leader  and  keeper  of  the  flock. 
We  have  no  authority  outside  of  God's  Word.  It  not 
only  covers  all  the  ground,  but  pronounces  withering 
anathemas  on  all  who  have  the  audacity  to  add  to  or 
take  from  (Rev.  22:18,  19.)  The  great  trouble  with  the 
churchisms  of  the  day  is  their  apparently  incorrigible 
propensity  to  usurp  and  grieve  away  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  is  the  only  head  of  the  true  gospel  church.  He 
calls  and  sends  whom  H^  will.  If  you  want  a  New  Tes- 
tament ordination,  you  have  nothing  to  do  but  have  the 
«aints  gather  about  you,  mid  fasting  and  prayer,  lay 
hands  on  you,  thus  invoking  the  Holy  Ghost  to  descend 
on  you,  fill  you  completely,  possess  you,  and  empower 


74  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

jou  for  the  work  He  has  called  you  to  do.  John  Wesley 
realized  much  difficulty,  as  his  preachers  were  not  or- 
dained, neither  could  he  prevail  on  the  church  to  ordain 
them,  consequently  he  consecrated  Dr.  Coke  to  the  supei- 
intendency  of  the  American  work.  He  came  over  and 
consecrated  Asbury^  who  ordained  four  thousand  Meth- 
odist preachers  in  his  long  and  useful  life.  In  this  way 
the  Methodist  church  was  originally  launched  in  Amer- 
ica. Hence  ycu  see  the  holiness  people  have  as  much 
•ght  to  ordination  as  the  Methodists  or  any  other  de- 
nomination. God  still  lives,  rules  His  church,  and  will 
not  relegate  His  authority  to  another.  He  wants  all  the 
help  He  can  get  to  save  a  sinking  world.  "Who  will 
then  consecrate  himself  to  the  Lord?'" 

Jesus,  with  the  twelve  whom  He  had  called,  having 
spent  a  night  at  prayer  on  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes, 
sends  them  forth,  Simon  Peter,  James  the  son  of  Zebe- 
dee,  John  the  brother  of  James;  and  He  conferred  on 
them  the  name,  Boanerges,  which  is  Sons  of  Thunder; 
Andrew  and  Philip  and  Bartholomew,  Matthew,  Thom- 
as, James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  and  Thaddeus  and  Simon 
the  Zelot,  and  Judas  Iscariot,  who  also  betrayed  Him. 
After  a  night  of  prayer  and  the  selection  of  the  twelve  in 
the  early  morning,  having  descended  from  the  summit, 
down  to  the  broad  table-land  on  the  slope.  He  observes  a 
mighty  host,  not  only  from  all  parts  of  Judea  and  Gali- 
lee, but  from  Tyre  and  Sidon — large  Gentile  cities  on 
the  Mediterranean  coast — as  usual  He  indulges  in 
works  of  mercy,  casting  out  the  demons  and  healing  the 
sick;  so  there  was  a  tremendous  pressure  all  rushing 
that  they  might  touch  Him,  because  the  power  continued 
to  go  out  from  Him  and  heal  all  who  came  in  contact 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  75 

with  Him.  He  has  now  reached  a  most  important  cr'tig 
in  His  work.  Having  called  and  commissioned  the 
twelve,  it  .is  transcendently  pertinent  that  they  were  in- 
structed in  the  great  fundamentals  of  His  kingdom, 
which  they  are  to  preach  to  all  the  world  when  He  shall 
have  gone  back  to  heaven.  Consequently,  leaving  the 
multitudes,  He  went  back  to  the  mountain  summit,  ac-- 
companied  by  His  disciples,  as  the  occasion  is  for  theii' 
especial  benefit.  The  multitude,  however,  have  already 
become  so  interested  that  they  follow  on,  determined  to 
hear  more  of  that  truth,  scintillations  of  Avhich  have 
already  thrilled  them  with  enthusiasm.  Xow  He  deliv- 
ers that  celebrated  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  so  deep,  high 
and  broad  as  to  comprehend  the  whole  plan  of  salvation, 
doctrine,  experimental  and  practical.  It  is  really  a  fo^ 
calizaition  of  all  truth,meeting  every  emergency  and  solv- 
ing every  problem  for  time  and  eternity.  "Blessed  are 
the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  the  heav- 
ens.'' The  sinner  is  not  only  poor,  but  in  absolute  spir- 
itual desolation,  so  poor  that  pauperism  does  not  com- 
prehend the  appalling  wretchedness  and  misery  of 
his  spiritual  condition.  Yet  Satan  and  his  myrmidons 
have  him  so  blinded  that  he  thinks  he  is  rich  and  dreams 
he  is  a  millionaire. 

The  first  blessing  in  the  redemptive  scheme  is  the 
conviction,  which  reveals  to  the  sinner  his  poverty;  a 
blessing  sure  enough,  because  the  kingdom  of  the  heav- 
ens is  his,  if  he  will  only  receive  it.  "Blessed  are  they 
that  mourn,  because  they  shall  be  comforted."  How 
pertinent  does  this  blessing  come  to  the  convicted  sinner 
mourning  for  salvation;  and  the  illuminated  Christian 
mourning  for  a  clean  heart !    "Blessed  are  the  meek,  for 


76  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

they  shall  inherit  the  earth/'  Meekness  is  that  beautiful 
grace  of  perfect  humility,  which  sinks  us  deep  down  into 
the  will  of  God,  so  that  losing  sight  of  all  the  world, 
we  desire  nothing  but  God.  Satan  has  the  world  (3  Cor. 
4 :4)  and  rules  it  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  consequently  God's 
meek  and  lowly  pilgrims  of  sorrow  and  suffering  have  a 
hard  time.  But  our  Lord  is  coming  again  on  the  raiib" 
bow  of  triumph,  to  dethrone  Satan,  take  him  and  all  his 
myrmidons  out  of  the  world,  and  give  the  whole  earth 
to  His  saints,  while  His  glory  will  envelop  the  globe 
as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  "Blessed  are  they  that  hun- 
ger and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for  they  shall  be 
filled."  The  King  of  Glory  has  come  down,  redeemed 
earth's  lost  millions  with  his  blood,  conquered  all  our 
enemies,  swept  away  our  poverty,  and  girdled  the  world 
with  his  table,  groaning  beneath  the  luxuries  and  delica- 
cies of  his  kingdom.  We  have  nothing  to  do  but  come  to 
the  table  and  help  ourselves.  The  angels  are  hovering 
around,  swift  to  wait  on  us  with  the  ambrosia  of  heaven, 
the  fatted  calf,  the  manna  in  the  golden  pot,  and  all  the 
fruits  of  Canaan.  Why  will  you  not  all  eat  to  glutten- 
ous  and  drink  to  drunkenness,  and  revel  in  all  the  luxu- 
ries of  this  wonderful  and  wonderful  full  Salvation? 
"Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy." 
When  you  reach  this  blessing  your  cloven  hoofs  and 
horns  all  drop  off,  and  you  sink  away  into  love  for  every 
body  and  every  thing  that  has  feeling.  Your  cow,  horse, 
dog,  chickens  and  your  neighbors  will  soon  find  it  out. 
These  blessings  are  beautifully  accumulative,  exhibiting 
a  golden  concatenation  mounting  up  like  an  Egyptian 
pyramid,  till  heaven  looms  in  view,  and  the  angels  edify 
you  with  their  melodious  anthemf  and  golden  harps ;  so 


JestLS  Preaching  in  Galilee.  ^i^ 

the  blessing  of  mercy  is  the  antje-chamber  to  that  of  a 
clean  heart.  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  because  they 
shall  see  God/''  Your  heart  is  your  spiritual  being,  your 
immortal  self,  liable  any  moment  to  evacuate  this  body 
and  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  Almighty,  who  hath 
decreed,  "Without  holiness  no  one  shall  see  the  Lord." 
A  pure  heart  has  no  sin  in  any  form  nor  phase;  no 
pride,  vanity,  anger,  wrath,  malice,  envy,  jealousy,  re- 
venge, bigotry,  prejudice,  lust,  covetousness,  ambition, 
or  love  of  the  world.  All  these  are  members  of  the  old 
man  (Col.  3),  who  must  be  crucified  or  utterly  destroyed 
(Rom.  6).  Sin's  annihilation  is  utterly  washed  away 
by  the  cleansing  blood,  consumed  by  the  fires  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  thus  superinducing  an  uttermost  salvation 
and  bringing  in  the  wonderful  experience  of  a  clean 
heart.  Good  Lord,  help  us  all  to  get  it  and  abide  in  the 
experience  till  translated  from  earth  to  heaven !  "Bles- 
sed are  the  peace-makers,  for  they  shall  be  called  the  sons 
of  God."  You  see  the  beautiful  logic  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which  directly  succeeds  tlie  blessing  of  a  clean  heart  with 
that  of  a  peace-maker.  Every  sinner  in  the  world  is  in- 
volved with  an  awful  war  with  God  Almighty  destined 
through  'an  awful  defeat  to  an  eternity  of  woe.  ^^Tien 
j-ou  get  a  clean  heart,  then  you  are  ready  to  labor  as  a 
peace-maker,  indefatigable  and  always  bidding  for  a 
job  on  that  line;  not  only  making  peace  with  God  in 
behalf  of  condemned  aliens,  but  you  become  the  herald 
of  "peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  to  man,"  everywhere 
dispensing  the  sunshine  of  reconciliation,  love,  friend- 
ship and  philanthropy  with  m^an  and  man.  "Blessed 
are  they  that  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake,  for 
theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven"  (Luke  6 :22) .  "Blessed 


'J'S  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

are  ye  when  the  people  may  hate  you,  and  when  they 
may  turn  you  out  of  the  church,  may  despise  and  cast 
out  your  name  as  evil.  Eejoice  in  that  day  and  leap  for 
joy;  for  behold  your  reward  is  great  in  heaven;  for 
according  to  these  things  that  their  fathers  did  unto  the 
prophets  *  *  *  woe  unto  you  when  all  tlie  people 
speak  well  of  you;  for  according  to  these  things  their 
fathers  were  accustomed  to  do  unto  the  false  prophets." 
How  beautifully  and  significantly  do  these  things  tower 
before  us!  Here  we  have  the  grand  culmination  of  a 
clean  heart,  followed  by  the  blessing  of  soul-saving, 
showing  that  you  must  have  a  clean  heart  if  you  would 
be  an  efficient  soul  saver.  Last  of  all,  the  pinnacle  of  the 
salvation  pyramid  is  the  blessing  of  persecution.  The 
logic  here  is  grand  and  beautiful.  If  you  have  not  a 
clean  heart  and  diligently  working  as  a  soul  saver,  perse- 
cution will  not  be  a  blessing  to  you.  What  a  glorious 
deliverance  from  all  the  troubles  of  life,  the  dread  of 
death,  hell  and  eternity,  are  these  blessings!  Here  we 
are  actually  commanded  to  leap  for  joy.  The  normal 
effect  of  this  wonderful  salvation  is  to  kill  out  the  man 
of  sin,  thus  making  us 

So  dead  that  no  desire  shall  rise 
To  pass  for  good  or  greater  wise 
In  any  but  my  Savior's  eyes. 

How  blessed  to  be  utterly  dead  to  what  people  may  say 
about  you,  or  think  of  you!  The  false  prophets  in  the 
olden  time  aspired  to  popularity,  sacrificing  duty  to  the 
praise  of  men.  Matt.  v.  13 :  "Ye  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth,'^  but  if  the  salt  shall  lose  savor,  with  what  shall 
it  be  salted  ?    It  is  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  out 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  79 

and  trodden  under  foot  by  the  people.  Eeligion  is  God's 
salt  to  save  the  world.  When  it  loses  the  Holy  Ghost,  it 
no  longer  has  any  saving  power.  Savorless  salt  is  the 
most  worthless  tiling  in  the  world.  Throw  it  on  the 
land  and  it  alkilies  the  ground  and  ruins  it ;  it  is  really 
fit  for  nothing  but  to  make  w^alks.  How  strikingly 
significant  these  words  of  Jesus!  When  religion  has 
lost  the  Holy  Ghost,  then  Satan  uses  it  to  make  walks 
over  which  the  people  travel  down  to  hell !  "Ye  are  the 
light  of  the  world.  *  *  *  Let  your  light  so  shine  before 
the  people  that  they  may  see  your  good  works  and  glorify 
your  Father  which  is  in  the  heavens.^'  If  the  salt  were 
all  out  of  the  ocean,  its  waters  would  stagnate,  generate 
malaria  and  depopulate  the  world,  destroying  not  only 
all  the  people,  but  every  air-breathing  animal.  Take  all 
the  Christians  out  of  the  world,  and  not  a  solitary  ray 
of  spiritual  light  is  left !  We  could  see  nothing  on  the 
earth,  if  it  did  not  reflect  solar  light  in  some  way.  The 
great  Son  of  Eighteousness  has  gone  up  to  heaven,  but 
He  has  left  His  disciples  to  reflect  His  light  upon  the 
guilty  millions  of  lost  immortals  on  all  sides  walking 
in  Satan's  midnight  down  to  endless  ruin.  "Think  not 
that  I  came  to  destroy  the  law  of  the  prophets :  I  came 
not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill.  *  *  *  For  I  say  unto  you 
that  unless  your  righteousness  abound  more  than  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees  you  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  The  ceremonial  law  of  bloody  sacrifices  was 
all  fulfilled  when  He  bled  and  died  on  the  cross.  All 
the  blood  and  water  catechisms  are  fulfilled  in  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Holy  Ghost.  "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of 
the  law"  (Rom.  13  :10).  We  must  appropriate  these  posi- 
tive and  definite  declarations  of  the  Savior.    He  died 


80  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

under  the  law  to  atone  for  our  sins,  because  the  law 
could  not  be  broken  with  impunity,  the  flippancy  of 
which  this  day  characterizes  tlie  popular  pulpit,  wink- 
ing at  sin  and  its  consequences,  compromising  with  the 
world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil;  "crying  peace,  peace, 
when  there  is  no  peace."  It  is  at  once  disgusting  and 
appalling,  telling  sinners  that  they  are  "not  under  the 
law,  but  under  grace,"  which  is  not  true.  Tlie  law  says, 
"The  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die."  Every  soul  is  amen- 
able to  the  law  till  the  man  of  sin  dies  ('Rom.  Qi-.Q^).  The 
man  of  grace  is  not  under  the  law.  Perfect  love  fulfills 
the  law.  The  scribes  were  the  popular  preachers,  and  the 
Pharisees  were  the  leading  church  members  in  our  Sa- 
vior's time.  But  they  were  dead  and  formal,  like  so 
many  of  their  successors  nowadays ;  hence  we  see  that  if 
we  do  not  get  something  better  than  the  popular  religion, 
even  as  represented  by  the  pastors  and  ruling  elders,  we 
will  never  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Matt.  5  :21-26 
gives  a  paragraph  involving  sundry  responsibilities 
amenable  to  Jewish  criminal  adjudication  and  symboliz- 
ing infinitely  greater  condemnation  before  the  tribunal 
of  heavenly  jurisprudence  (v.  22).  "But  I  say  unto 
you  that  every  one  who  is  angry  with  his  brother  shall 
be  liable  to  the  judgment."  E.  V.  erroneously  inserted 
the  clause,  "Without  a  cause,"  which  does  not  appear  in 
the  original.  Every  human  being  is  your  brother.  An- 
ger is  the  spirit  of  murder,  hence  if  you  would  be  guilt- 
less before  the  law  of  Grod,  you  must  get  rid  of  all  anger, 
in  the  glorious  experience  of  entire  sanctification.  We 
here  see  that  the  gate  of  mercy  is  forever  closed  against 
the  person  who  has  aught  against  any  human  being. 
This  unforgiving  spirit  fills  the  church  with  backsliders, 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  81 

makes  the  home  a  pandemonium  and  the  world  a  hell. 
Verse  25.  In  this  verse  the  Mediatorial  Christ  is  the 
adversar}%  doing  his  utmost  to  arrest  every  hellward- 
bound  soul  in  his  mad  rush  to  destruction.  The  Judge 
is  the  Judicial  Christ,  at  whose  tribunal  every  soul 
who  rejects  His  mediatorial  mercy  must  soon  give  an 
awful  account  of  a  wdcked  life.  The  officer  is  none  other 
than  Satan,  the  king  of  hell,  to  whom  the  interceding 
Savior  delivers  all  unsavable  souls,  while  the  prison  here 
mentioned  is  the  awful  black  abyss  of  a  bottomless  hell. 
The  paragraph  (vs.  27-30)  describes  the  dark  iniquity 
of  the  heart,  adultery,  at  the  same  time  exhorting  every 
human  being  to  stand  aloof  from  it,  even  at  the  cost 
of  the  right  e3^e  and  the  right  hand,  the  alternative  be- 
ing the  ejectment  of  the  soul  and  body  into  hell.  Verse 
32,  condemning  the  man  who  marries  the  divorced  wo- 
man is  an  erroneous  translation,  as  apolelumeneen  does 
not  mean  a  divorced  woman,  but  simply  ^Tiaving  been 
cast  off,"  e.  g.,  whom  the  angry,  oppressive  husband 
drives  away  from  home.  There  is  no  information  in  the 
case  that  she  has  a  right  to  a  divorcement;  but  while 
that  is  an  open  question,  it  is  certain  she  has  not  re- 
ceived it.  Therefore  she  is  still  the  wife  of  her  tyranni- 
cal husband,  who  mal-treated  and  drove  her  away ;  con- 
sequently the  man  marrying  her  is  criminal  of  adultery, 
because  she  is  another  man's  wife.  Since  the  force  of  a 
Scriptural  divorce  is  the  nullification  of  the  matrimonial 
covenant,  and  the  restoration  of  the  parties  to  celibacy, 
when  it  is  realh^  Scriptural  and  legal,  the  normal  sig- 
nification is  to  render  the  party  marriageable  again. 
Verses  33-37.  Our  Lord  condemns  all  profanity,  and 
even  all  superfluent  words  and  phrases,  as  coming  from 


82  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  evil  one,  i.  e.,  the  devil.  Verses  38-42.  He  forever 
sweeps  away  the  lex  talionis,  i.  e.,  the  law  of  retaliation 
in  all  its  forms  and  phases,  explicitly  exhorting  all  of 
His  disciples  to  love  their  enemies,  lend  to  the  poor 
without  any  probability  of  reciprocation,  in  order  that 
we  may  be  the  children  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  who 
sends  down  rain  and  sunshine  on  the  wicked  as  well  as 
the  good,  closing  up  the  loving  exhortation  by  that  thril- 
ling commandment,  "Therefore  ye  shall  be  perfect  as 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect.^^  Luke  paral- 
els  it,  "Be  merciful  as  your  Father  which  is  merciful." 
As  mercy  is  the  normal  fruit  of  love  in  all  ages  and  na- 
tions, the  meaning  of  this  strong  and  beautiful  com- 
mandment is  identical  with  the  grand  leader  of  the  dec- 
alogue^ enjoining  perfect  love  to  God  and  man.  It  is 
impossible  to  love  the  Lord  with  all  the  heart  when  any 
part  of  the  spiritual  being  is  occupied  by  an  alien. 
Hence  entire  sanctification  is  the  negative,  and  perfect 
love  the  positive  hemisphere  of  full  salvation.  The  Greek 
"perfect'^  is  teleive,  from  telos,  the  end;  therefore  it 
means  a  finished  salvation.  Christ  came  to  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil  (1  John  3:8).  All  sin  is  the  work 
of  the  devil.  Wlien  Jesus  completes  His  work.  He  ut- 
terly exterminates  it  out  of  our  spiritual  organism 
(Matt.  6:1-7).  Our  Lord  warns  us  against  all  ostenta- 
tious display  and  vain  glory,  affirming  that  the  hypo- 
crites who  hold  up  before  the  world  a  gaudy,  showy  re- 
ligion exhaust  their  reward,  i.  e.,  get  it  all  here,  the 
praise  of  the  people,  and  have  none  left  for  eternity.  He 
also  warns  us  against  vain  repetitions  in  our  prayers  and 
speeches  reminding  us  that  the  lightning  and  not  the 
thunder  does  all  the  execution.    In  connection  with  this 


Jesus  Preacliing  in  Galilee.  83 

warning  against  empty  repeftitions,  He  even  favors  us 
with  the  form  of  the  prayer  we  are  to  use  till  He  comes 
in  His  glory.  The  great  salient  facts  prominent  in  that 
prayer  is  our  constant  petition  of  the  Father  in  the  name 
of  the  Son  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  to  give  us  grace 
to  do  His  will  on  earth,  as  the  angels  and  redeemed 
saints  do  it  in  heaven,  which  simply  means  to  grant  unto 
us  the  perpetual  experience  of  entire  sanctification  (1 
Thess.  4:3).  "This  is  His  will,  your  sanctification."  The 
concomitant  petition  with  the  above,  is  "thy  kingdom 
come."  This  prayer  is  not  given  to  sinners,  but  to  our 
Savior's  disciples;  all  of  whom  are  citizens  of  the  king- 
dom of  grace,  having  it  already  established  in  their 
hearts  and  verified  in  their  lives.  Hence  the  kingdom 
for  which  we  are  to  pray  night  and  day  is  none  other 
than  the  glorious  millennial  theocracy,  which  the  Lord 
will  bring  with  Him  when  He  comes  in  the  splendor  of 
His  matchless  glory.  Another  climacteric  idiom  of  this 
universal  prayer  is,  "Deliver  us  from  the  evil  one,"  i.  e., 
from  the  devil.  The  E.  V.  here  is  too  weak,  giving  the 
abstract,  when  the  Greek  has  the  concrete,  setting  forth 
the  transcendent  reality  that  it  is  the  glorious  privilege 
of  every  disciple  to  get  rid  of  the  devil  altogether, 
so  he  will  never  again  be  permitted  to  come  in  shooting 
distance.  To  be  sure  he  will  shoot  at  you,  but  will  waste 
all  of  his  ammunition.  Verses  16-18.-  Our  Lord  here 
again  warns  us  against  a  religion  consisting  of  external 
show,  pomp  and  pageantry;  but  destitute  of  the  spirit- 
ual reality.  Verses  19-23.  Importunate  warnings 
against  lapng  up  treasures  on  earth  where  moth  and 
rust  and  thieves  will  get  them.  But  He  pours  His  burn- 
ing emphasis  in  solemn  warnings  to  all  of  His  disciples 


84  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

to  lay  up  their  treasures  in  heaven, where  they  will  nev- 
er perish,  but  accumulate  new  beauty  and  value,  which 
will  never  end  till  eternity  sweeps  along.  The  meaning 
of  this  grand  admonition  is  that  the  spiritual  shall  for- 
ever predominate  over  the  material.  We  can  take  none 
of  the  latter  with  us  when  we  go,  hence  we  can  lay  up 
nothing  in  heaven  but  immortal  souls;  therefore,  in 
these  alone  should  we  make  our  investment.  Verses 
24-34  is  a  burning  appeal  following  the  preceding  para- 
graph as  a  legitimate  corrollary,  reminding  us  of  the 
impossibility  to  serve  two  masters,  i.  e.,  God  and  man. 
The  mission  of  Jesus  on  earth  was  only  to  do  His  Fath- 
er's will.  It  is  equally  true  of  all  His  disciples.  We 
have  nothing  to  do  in  this  earthly  life,  but  glorify  God 
by  helping  Jesus  to  save  the  sinking  millions  of  a  dying 
world.  He  challenges  us  to  look  at  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
for  they  neither  sow  nor  reap  nor  gather  into  barns; 
also  to  gaze  upon  the  beautiful  lilies  of  the  field,  so 
nice  and  white  as  to  remind  us  of  earthly  purity  and 
glory,  at  the  same  time  assuring  us  that  God  will  feed 
us  like  the  birds  and  clothe  us  like  the  lilies.  Of  all  the 
kings  who  ever  lived,  Solomon  was  the  most  glorious,  yet 
our  Lord  certifies  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory,  fell 
behind  the  lilies,  in  the  splendor  and  beauty  of  his  re- 
galia. He  condemns  all  solicitude  about  transitory 
things.  He  vrants  us  to  be  free  as  the  birds,  simple  and 
beautiful  as  the  lilies,  utterly  unencumbered  with  transi- 
tory things,  so  we  can  at  all  times  be  at  our  best  for  God, 
souls  and  heaven,  exhorting  us  to  seek  the  kingdom  of 
God  first,  assuring  us  that  all  of  these  other  things,  i.  e.. 
temporal  contingencies,  shall  be  added  unto  us. 

Luke  6  :37-42.     He  admonishes  us  against  a  critical 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  85 

disposition,  condemnatory  in  our  attitude  towards  oth- 
ers, as  Paul  said,  "Who  art  thou  that  judgeth  another 
man's  servant?  to  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  fall- 
eth."  He  exhorts  to  us  liberality  in  measuring  and 
weighing,  assuring  us  that  the  same  will  be  weighed  and 
measured  back  to  us.  He  gives  us  solemn  warnings 
against  blind  guides,  assuring  us  thiait  the  guide  and  his 
followers  will  fall  into  the  ditch  (i.  e.,  hell)  together. 
"The  disciple  is  not  above  his  teacher ;  but  everyone  who 
has  been  made  perfect  shall  be  like  his  teacher."  His 
omnipotent  grace  amply  provides  for  the  protection  o:? 
all  His  disciples.  "W^y  are  we,  then,  like  Him  ?  Be- 
ciause  He  has  no  sin.  When  He  makes  us  perfect,  He 
takes  it  all  out  of  us,  so  that  we  become  the  participants 
of  His  own  purity.  Here  again  He  warns  us  against  the 
hypocrite,  who  will  see  the  mote  in  the  eye  of  the  Lord's 
perfect  disciple,  while  he  has  a  beam  in  his  own  eye. 
The  mote  here  means  the  infirmity  which  inheres  in  tht 
sanctified  till  this  mortal  puts  on  immortality.  Glori- 
fication wrought  by  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  only  deliver- 
ance from  all  infirmities.  Sanctification  takes  away 
nothing  but  sin,  leaving  the  infirmities  for  the  final  con- 
servation work  of  the  glorification.  You  see  here  thai 
the  critic,  who  is  none  other  than  an  anti-holiness  pro- 
fessor, denominated  a  hypocrite  by  the  Savior,  has  a 
beam  in  his  own  eye.  That  beam  is  inbred  sin,  which 
will  drag  him  into  hell  if  he  does  not  get  rid  of  it;  while 
the  mote  does  not  hurt  the  eye,  neither  does  it  keep  any- 
body out  of  heaven. 

Matt.  7 :6.  ^^Give  not  that  which  is  holy  to  the  dogs, 
neither  cast  your  pearls  before  the  swine;  lest  they  may 
trample  them  under  feet,  turning  may  tear  you  into 


86  Life  of  Jesus  and  Ills  Apostles. 

pieces/'  Dogs  and  horses  are  unclean  animals,  here  sig- 
nifying carnal  people.  This  warning  should  constantly 
be  heeded,  lest  we  forfeit  our  opportunities  of  doing 
good  by  falling  into  these  fatal  mistakes.  Hence  you 
see  we  should  not  cast  the  pearls  of  holiness  before  dead 
professors  and  wicked  worldlings,  as  in  that  case  we 
would  do  them  no  good  and  only  cause  them  to  commiit 
sin  by  rejecting  the  truth.  Much  valuable  ammunition 
is  thus  wasted  on  dead  game.  Sanctification  is  only  for 
the  citizens  of  the  kingdom,  repentance  being  the  gospel 
for  aliens. 

"We  now  have  n  series  of  exceedingly  precious  prom- 
ises, i.  e.,  "Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you ;  seek  and 
you  shall  find;  knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you. 
*  *  *  if  then  you  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good 
gifts  to  your  children,  how  much  more  does  your  Father 
who  is  in  heaven  know  how  to  give  good  things  to  them 
that  ask  Him  ?"  Lord,  inspire  the  omnipotent  faith  of  ev- 
eryone who  reads  these  promises  to  receive  and  appropri- 
ate them  in  spite  of  sin,  doubt  and  the  devil !  Verse  12. 
"Therefore  all  things  whatsoever  you  may  wish  that  the 
people  do  unto  you,  do  you  also  unto  them :  for  this  is 
the  law  and  the  prophets.^^  The  Old  Testament  revealed 
in  beautiful  symbolism,  everything  revealed  in  fact  in 
the  New  Testament,  hence  you  see  how  the  great  law  of 
reciprocity  really  solves  the  entire  problem  of  human 
life,  duty  and  responsibility.  Yerses  13,  14. 
"Broad  is  the  road  that  leads  to  death, 

And  thousands  walk  together  there ; 
While  wisdom  shows  a  narrow  path, 

"With  here  and  there  a  traveler." 
This    is    the    King's    highway    of    holiness     (Isa. 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  87 

35).  It  is  so  narrow  that  there  is  only  room 
for  a  human  soul,  unencumbered  by  sin  and  the 
world,  to  travel  over  it.  Our  Lord  follows  this  stupen- 
dous affirmation  by  six  verses,  all  devoted  to  solemn 
warnings  to  "beware  of  false  prophets.''  Who  are  these 
false  prophets?  The  connection  shows  clearly  that  they 
are  counterfeit  preachers,  who  broaden  the  way,  thus 
deceiving  heaven-bound  pilgrims  and  dragging  thorn 
into  hell.  When,  in  the  light  of  God's  Word  and  Spirit, 
we  look  around  and  see  fallen  churches  and  false  proph- 
ets on  all  sides,  as  Jesus  says,  "Only  one  here  and  there 
traveling  the  narrow  way."  The  Protestant  churches 
are  fast  becoming  a  wreck  in  the  track  of  Romanism, 
60  corrupt  as  to  alarmingly  verify  the  prophesy  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  through  Paul  (1  Tim.  4:1)— "The  Spirit 
positively  says  that  some  will  depart  from  the  faith, 
giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits  and  the  teaching  of  de- 
mons." 2  Tim.  3  :1.  "Know  this,  that  in  the  last  days 
perilous  times  shall  come  *  *  *  having  a  form  of  god- 
liness and  denying  the  power  of  the  same;  from  these 
turn  away."  Chapter  4 :3.  "For  the  time  will  eome  when 
they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine,  but;  according  to 
their  own  lust  will  heap  to  themselves  teachers  having 
itching  ears,  and  will  turn  their  hearing  from  the  truth 
and  be  turned  into  fables."  We  are  now  living  among, 
the  sad  fulfillment  of  the  awful  prophesies  uttered  by 
Jesus  and  Paul.  In  countless  instances  at  the  present 
day,  the  churches  take  the  bit  in  their  teeth  and  dictate 
to  the  preacher.  If  he  does  not  prophecy  "smooth 
things,"  they  will  withhold  their  support  and  send  him 
away.  Oh,  how  few  preachers  are  now  actually  walk- 
ing in  the  narrow  way,  saying  to  their  members,  "Fol- 


88  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

low  me  as  I  follow  the  Lord!"  The  people  turn  with 
disgust  from  the  narrow  way,  demand  of  their  preachers 
carnal  freedom.  The  pastor  who  will  let  his  members 
slip  through  his  fingers  into  hell  with  least  friction,  is 
most  popular.  Verses  21-23.  Our  Lord  gives  us  a  vivid 
judgment  scene,  portraying  these  false  prophets,  i.  e., 
counterfeit  preachers,  whose  name  is  legion,  coming  up 
and  standing  before  the  great  white  throne,  presenting 
their  commendatory  claims  for  acquittal,  reward  and 
heavenly  promotion;  "Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  prophe- 
sied in  thy  name,  and  in  thy  name  cast  out  demons,  and 
in  thy  name  done  many  mighty  works?  Then  will  I 
testify  unto  them,  I  have  never  known  ye;  depart  from 
me,  ye  who*  work  Iniquity."  These  preachers  have  occu- 
pied prominent  positions  in  the  churches,  been  loved 
and  appreciated  by  their  people,  made  many  converts, 
built  fine  churches,  represented  their  people  in  the  great 
and  honorable  councils.  They  live  and  die  feeling  sure 
that  they  are  right;  they  come  up  to  judgment  in  the  con- 
fiding egotism  in  which  they  have  lived,  there  to  find 
out  the  appalling  secret  that  Satan,  arrayed  as  an  angel 
of  light,  had  called  them  to  the  ministry.  They  have 
preached  his  gospel,  pleased,  deceived  and  damned  mul- 
titudes who  followed  them  and  applauded  their  able 
anti-holiness  sermons.  Now,  when  it  is  eternally  too  late, 
they  find  out  the  awful  and  fatal  mistake.  Reader,  I 
am  not  dra^dng  on  my  imagination.  The  connection 
shows  that  these  are  the  false  prophets  who  preach  a 
broad  way  to  heaven.  They  are  all  around  us.  We  live 
in  an  age  of  fallen  ehurches  and  false  prophets.  Verses 
24-29.  Now  Jesus  winds  up  this  wonderful  Se>rmon  on 
the  Mount  of  Beatitudes,  vividly  contrasting  the  mar 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  89 

who  hears  His  word  and  does  it,  with  the  man  who  hears 
and  does  not;    the  former  builds  his  house  upon  the 
rock,  the  winds  howl,  tempests  roar,  hurricanes  sweep, 
floods    come   down,    cyclones   desolate,   yet   tlie   super- 
structure stands  impregnable,  because  it  is  built  on  the 
eternal  foundation  of  the  earth.     The  word  translated 
"rock"   (E.  V.)  is  petra,  which  really  means  the  vast 
unbroken  foundation  of  the  earth,  holding  up  all  the 
mountains,  seas  and  oceans,  and  (Matt.  16:18)  appliei 
to  Christ  Himself.    The  metaphor  applied  in  this  coun- 
try might  be  criticised,  as  we  can  build  no  house  which 
would  absolutely  be  proof  against  perpetual  storms  and 
floods.  This  is  not  so  in  the  Holy  Land,  where  the  houses 
are  solid  stone  from  foundation  to  the  flat  stone  roof, 
and  all  consolidated  by  calcareous  and  bituminous  ce- 
ment, so  that  the  house  is  like  a  native  lime-stone  rock 
as  old  as  creation.    On  the  contrary  the  man  who  hears 
the  words  of  Jesus  and  does  them  not,  builds  his  house 
upon  the  sand ;  the  floods  undermind  it  and  the  storms 
capsize  it,  and  the  ruin  is  irretrievable.     Verse  28.     It 
came  to  pass  when  Jesus  finished  these  speeches,  the 
multituds  were  astonished  by  His  teaching,  for  He  was 
teaching  them  as  one  having  authority,  and  not  as  the 
scribes.    You  see  what  a  decisive  contrast  between  Him 
and  the  scribes,  who  were  the  popular  preachers,  and  ig- 
norant of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  Jesus  receired  when 
John  baptized  Him.     So    it   is   the   person   nowadays 
who  has  n-ot  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  an  indwelling 
Sanctifier  and  Comforter,  preaches  after  the  forceless 
style  of  the  scribes  and  other  unsanctified  people.   Here 
we  see  the  reason  why  Jesus  forbade  His  own  apostles 
to  go  out  under  the  commission  until  they  received  the 


90  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Holy  Ghost.  Oh,  what  a  mistake  is  made  by  not  tarry- 
ing at  Jerusalem  till  Jesus  baptizes  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  fire.  Without  thiS;,  there  will  be  little  or  no  force 
in  the  preaching. 

The  Mount  of  Beatitudes  hangs  over  Capernaum 
from  her  north.  Then  the  Lord  descends  into  the  city, 
the  elders  importune  Him,  in  behalf  of  the  centurion, 
who  had  built  them  a  synagogue  that  He  should  go  at 
once  and  heal  his  servant,  as  he  esteemed  him  very 
highly,  and  he  was  about  to  die.  While  Jesus  is  going 
with  the  elders  to  the  centurion's  house,  he  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  Him  to  stop  Him,  entreating  Him  to  forbear 
making  the  trip  to  his  house,  but  only  to  speak  a  word 
and  it  will  be  done  accordingl}^,  ipse  dixit;  observing 
I  am  a  man  under  authority,  having  soldiers  under  me ; 
I  say  to  this  one,  "go,  and  he  goeth ;  to  that  one,  come, 
and  he  cometh;  and  to  another,  do  this,  and  he  doeth 
it.''  Tlie  faith  of  this  heathen  man  astonished  Jesus, 
who,  turning  to  the  multitude  following,  said,  "I  have 
not  found  so  great  faith  in  Israel."  The  centurion  was 
then  on  duty  as  an  officer  in  the  Eoman  army,  and 
doubtless  had  often  heard  Jesus  preach  on  the  street,  as 
He  had  already  preached  a  whole  year  in  Galilee,  making 
His  headquarters  in  that  city.  Now  let  us  see  the  real  at- 
titude of  the  centurion's  faith,  which  our  Lord  so  highly 
commends.  His  faith  arose  in  him  like  a  giant  and  said. 
"Precisely  as  I  command  soldiers  and  the  stem  Eoman 
law  forces  them  to  obey  me  promptly,  or  lose  their  heads, 
so  you  command  diseases  to  get  out  of  the  body  and  de- 
mons to  evacuate  the  soul  and  they  are  forced  by  the  laws 
of  heaven  to  obey  you.  Consequently  he  looked  upon  the 
visit  of  Jesus  to  his  house  as  a  superfluity.    Though  the 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  91 

Lord  halted  and  went  on  other  errands  of  mercy,  those 
who  had  carried  the  centnrion^s  message  to  Him  return- 
ed to  his  house  and  found  his  servant  well.  Lord  help 
us  to  have  faith  in  thee  like  this  heathen  soldier !  Luke 
7 :1-10 ;  Matt.  8 :11,  "And  I  say  unto  you  many  will 
come  from  the  East  and  from  the  West,  and  sit  down 
with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven,  but  the  sons  of  the  Kingdom  shall  be  cast  out 
into  outer  darkness;  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnash- 
ing of  teeth."  This  was  true  in  case  of  Cornelius  with 
multitudes  of  Gentiles,  destined  soon  to  follow  him  into 
the  Kingdom ;  w^hile  the  Jews,  with  all  their  light  and 
opportunities,  led  astray  by  the  corrupt  clevgy,  were? 
ruined  for  time  and  eternity.  This  same  prophecy  of  my 
Lord  is  this  day  receiving  an  awful  fulfillment,  as  we 
see  multiplied  thousands  of  the  children  of  all  the 
churches,  going  aw^ay  into  sin,  worldliness  and  infideli- 
ty, and  hell,  while  the  heathens  are  coming  to  the  light, 
responding  to  the  call  of  gospel  grace  and  getting  saved 
by  thousands,  v.  13.  Jesus  said  to  the  centurion,  "Go, 
and  as  thou  believe  be  it  done  unto  thee."  Here  you  see 
omnipotence  of  faith,  both  for  soul  and  body.  The  bank 
of  faith  cannot  be  broken.  Your  faith  is  absolutely  the 
m-easuring  line  of  your  salvation.  Jesus  now  leaves 
Capernaum,  accompanied  by  the  newly  installed  Twelve, 
and  a  vast  multitude.  In  the  city  ^ain  on  the  North- 
ern slopes  of  Mt.  Eamouth-gilead,  a  poor  widow  with 
broken  heart  is  following  her  only  son  to  the  tomb. 
Her  piteous  wails  have  reverberated  through  the  air  for- 
ty miles  to  Capernaum.  The  tender  heart  of  Jesus 
reciprocates  with  loving  sympathy.  Already  the  pro- 
cession   following  the    bier  is  passed    beyond  the  wall, 


92  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

crossed  the  stone  bridge,  over  a  ravine  and  are  slowly 
marching  away  to  the  sepulchre  in  the  mountain's  crag ; 
when  Jesus,  accompanied  by  His  disciples,  comes  up, 
falls  in  front  of  the  bier,  motions  to  the  pall-bearers 
to  sit  it  down.  He  now  lifts  the  pall  from  the  face  of  the 
dead,  takes  the  corpse  by  the  hand,  and  speaks  with  a 
voice  that  makes  the  mountain  tremble,  "Young  man, 
I  say  unto  thee,  arise."  Lifting  him  up,  he  opens  his 
eyes,  sees  his  mo'ther  and  falls  into  her  embrace.  Mean- 
while the  whole  multitude  is  wonderfully  excited,  rush 
forward,  climb  surrounding  heights,  to  see  what  is  the 
matter.  So  fast  as  they  find  out  what  has  been  done, 
they  all  throw  their  mouths  wide  open,  and  shout 
uproariously,  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  who  has  sent 
a  prophet  into  Israel,  who  has  power  to  speak  the  dead 
to  life  again!"  Now  the  whole  city  is  aroused  by  the 
roaring  shout,  dumbfounded  and  perplexed  to  explain 
the  phenomenon,  they  soliloquized,  "What  can  it  be? 
Whoever  heard  a  great  shout  at  a  funeral?  Why,  that 
is  the  place  of  weeping."  Now  they  mount  the  flat  roofs 
of  the  houses  and  stretch  their  eyes  to  see  what  is  the 
matter.  By  this  time  the  whole  procession  in  wild,  irreg- 
ular, roaring  confusion,  is  moving  back  to  the  city.  Soon 
they  recognize  the  young  man  and  his  mother  heading 
the  procession,  and  all  the  balance  following  with  tre- 
mendous shouts.  How  wonderful  was  the  loving  pity  of 
my  Lord,  to  walk  forty  miles  to  Nain  and  then  forty 
back  to  Capernaum,  all  to  gladden  the  broken  heart  of 
that  widowed  mother,  as  well  as  to  reveal  His  stupend- 
ous mercy  to  the  world,  Luke  7 :  11-1 7.  We  now  see  Je- 
sus accosted  by  two  of  the  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist, 
whom  he  had  sent  all  the  way  from  his  prison  in  Macher- 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  93 

us  on  the  Dead  Sea  under  the  shadow  of  Mt.  Pisgah,  in 
the  Land  of  Moah,  about  two  hundred  miles  to  inquire 
of  Jesus,  "Art  thou  He  who  is  coming,  or  must  we  look 
for  another  ?"  Jesus  simply  responds  to  them,  "Go  tell 
John  the  things  which  you  have  seen  and  heard ;  the 
blind  see,  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf 
hear,  the  dead  are  raised  up,  the  poor  have  the  gospel 
preached  unto  .them;  and  blessed  is  he,  whosoever  may 
not  be  offended  in  me/' 

The  reader  intuitively  propounds  the  questions,  "Why 
did  John  send  those  disciples  ?   Had  he  who  had  intro- 
duced Jesus  to  the  world  as  the  Christ  fallen  into  doubt  ? 
Or  was  it  to  satisfy  His  doubting  disciples?"     It  was 
neither  of  these.    I  have  no  idea  that  either  John  or  his 
disciples  entertained     doubts  about    the  Christhood  of 
Jesus.    Then,  why  did  he  send  them?    I  trow  it  was  to 
evoke  from  Him  a  public  announcement  of  his  Christ- 
hood.     John  had  already  spent  about  fourteen  months 
in  that  loathsome  prison.    He  felt  anxious  for  Jesus  to 
bring  his  enterprise  to  a  crisis.    While  He  was  dazzling 
the  eye  of  the  world  with  the  wisdom  of  His  preaching 
and  the  majesty  of  His  miracles,  He  had  not  yet  openly 
declared  His  Christhood  among  the  Jews.     (1)  If  He 
had,  they  would  have  crowned  Him  King,  and  the  Ro- 
mans would  have  killed  Him.     (2)   Doubtless  in  His 
infallible  wisdom,  He  preferred  to  let  His  mighty  works 
convince  them  of  His  divinity,  in  the  absence  of  open 
avowal  on  His  part.     The  arrival  of  John's  messengers, 
incidently  brought  up  the  subject  of  John's  ministry, 
which  the  multitudes  then  hanging  spell-bound  on  His 
lips  could  never  forget.    Here  He  certifies  to  them  the 
pre-eminence  of  John  the  Baptist  above  all  the  prophets 


94  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

who  had  preceded  Him,  but  puzzles  them  and  many 
in  our  day  hy  certifying,  ^'that  the  least  in  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  is  greater  than  he,^^  i.  e.,  dispensation — 
by  greater,  as  John  lived  and  died  in  the  daj's  of  the 
law  and  the  prophets,  on  the  normal  plain  of  justifica- 
tion; though  he  and  other  patriarchs  and  prophets  en- 
joyed proliptical  sanctification ;  whereas  the  Pentecost 
of  dispensation  is  entirely  on  the  normal  plain  of  sanc- 
tification. He  also  reminds  them  that  John  was  tli3 
last  prophet  of  the  old  dispensation,  succeeded  by  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  i.  e.,  the  gospel  dispensation.  He  ako 
reminds  them  how  all  the  people  and  even  the  publicans 
justified  God,  being  baptized  by  John ;  but  the  Pharisees 
and  Theologians  rejected  the  counsel  of  God  against 
them,  not  being  baptized  by  him.  The  truth  of  it  is, 
John  publicly  insulted  them,  calling  them  a  ^'generation 
of  vipers,"  at  the  same  time  positively  refusing  to  bap- 
tize them  unless  they  showed  up  satisfactory  symptoms 
of  repentance,  which  they  failed  to  do,  consequently  for- 
feiting the  blessing  of  His  baptism.  Xow  Jesus  likens 
the  present  to  little  children,  sitting  in  the  forum  calling 
to  one  another,  and  saying,  "We  have  piped  unto  yon 
and  you  have  not  danced;  we  have  mourned  unto  you 
and  you  have  not  w^ept."  For  John  the  Baptist  came 
neither  eating  bread  nor  drinking  wine,  and  you  say  he 
hath  a  demon.  The  son  of  man  eating  and  drinking, 
and  you  say:  "Behold  a  man  gluttenous  and  drinking 
wine  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners."  But  wisdom 
is  justified  o^  her  children,  Luke  7  :18-35.  While  Jesus 
was  begotten  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  John  was  born  of  sup- 
erannuated parents  who  were  re-invigorated  by  the  di- 
rect intervention  of  the  Holy  Spirit.    Hence  they  were 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  95 

both  truly  the  children  of  the  Holy  Ghost  here  personi. 
fled  by  wisdom,  one  of  his  attributes.     While  it  is  tru€ 
in  a  concrete  sense,  that  Jesus  and  John  were  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  is  equally  true  in  an  ahstraci 
sense,  as  John  represents  the  old  dispensation  and  being 
the  last  of  the  prophets,  typifies  the  death  of  that  dis- 
pensation, while  Jesus  really  and  practically  inaugur- 
ated  the   new,   currently   designated  the  Kingdom   ol 
God,  in  contradistinction  to  the  theocracy  under  the  law 
and  prophets.    There  is  in  this  symbolism,  presented  bji 
our  Lord,  a  most  vivid  exemplification  of  Christian  ex- 
perience.    We  must  all  have  our  funeral  and  our  wed- 
ding, if    we  would    enjoy  a  place  in    the  bridehood  oi 
Christ.    Our  old  husband,  Adam  the  First,  must  die  and 
be  buried,  before  we  can  get  married  to  our  new  Lover, 
Adam  the  Second ;  the  crucifixion  of  the  old  man  being 
the  negative  side  of  sanctification  and  our  marriage  to 
Christ  the  positive.    It  is  a  notable  fact  here,  that  these 
children  were  only  playing  funeral  and  wedding;  as 
there  was  nothing  of  the  kind  on  hand.     This  fact  re- 
mands us  of  the  shoddy  professions,  so  prevalent  in  every 
age;  people  on  all  sides  professing  to  be  dead  to  sin, 
when  really  they  are  not  dead,  and  sin  funeral  with  them 
is  only  a  sham ;   while  it  is  equally  true  that  they  pro- 
fess to  be  married  to  Christ,  ^dien  their  lives  sadly  show 
that  they  still  have  worldly  lovers,  but  it  is  not  true  of 
married  people.     How  sad  to  see  so  much  sham  profes- 
sion, claiming  to  being  dead  to  sin  when  they  are  not; 
and  married  to  Christ,  which  their  lives  show  to  be  a 
sad  mistake. 

Jesus  is  now  in  Capernaum,  the  central  city  of  all 
His  Galilean  evangelistic  peregrinations ;  in  full  view  of 


96  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Chorazin,  Bethsaida,  Tyberius  and  many  other  cities 
dotting  the  coast  of  that  memorable  sea,  which  wit- 
nessed most  of  His  mighty  works,  Matt.  11 :20-24:.  Now 
he  breaks  out  into  most  awful  anathemas  and  wither- 
ing woes  against  those  cities,  because  they  did  not  re- 
pent under  His  preaching.  "Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin ! 
Wo€  unto  thee,  Bethsaida !  because  if  the  mighty  works 
which  have  been  performed  in  you,  had  been  in  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in 
sack-cloth  and  ashes.  Moreover,  I  say  unto  you,  it  will  be 
more  tolerant  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  on  the  day  of  Judg- 
ment than  for  you.'^  Chorazin  was  a  flourishing  city 
twenty  miles  away  on  the  slopes  of  Mt.  Anti-Lebanon,  in 
full  view  and  very  conspicuous  from  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
Bethsaida  stood  on  the  north-east  coast  of  the  sea,  about 
eight  miles  from  Capernaum.  Pursuant  to  these 
blighting  woes,  both  of  these  cities  went  into  utter  deso- 
lation, and  so  remained  through  the  ages.  Bethsaida 
is  still  desolate  without  an  inhabitant.  It  was  the  hon- 
ored birthplace  of  Peter,  Andrew  and  Philip.  A  few 
years  ago  a  Jewish  colony  dropped  down  on  the  site  of 
Old  Chorazin,  and,  like  all  other  places  whither  they 
emigrate,  made  it  boom.  WHien  I  saw  it  in  1899,  it 
was  very  prosperous,  containine:  twentv-four  thousand 
inhabitants.  The  reason  why  the  doom  of  these  Jew- 
ish cities,  in  the  Judgment  day,  will  be  infinitely  more 
awful  than  that  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  is  because  they  are 
Gentile  cities,  and  never  heard  the  gospel.  Though 
they  were  awfully  wicked  and  terribly  anathematized 
by  the  old  prophets,  yet  they  never  had  the  light  of  re- 
vealed truth.  From  this  you  see  there  will  be  a  diversity 
of  judgments  in  the  great  day ;  those  who  have  rejected 


Jesus  Preacliing  in  Galilee.  97 

most  light,  receiving  the  most  terrible  retributions. 
"And  thou,  Capernaum,  who  art  exalted  up  to  Heaven, 
shall  be  cast  down  to  hell ;  because  if  the  mighty  works 
which  were  wrought  in  thee  had  been  among  the  Sodom- 
ites they  would  have  remained  to  this  day.  Moreover, 
I  say  unto  you  it  will  bemore  tolerable  for  the  land  of  the 
Sodomites  than  for  thee."  The  reason  why  Capernaum 
is  said  to  have  been  exalted  up  to  heaven,  was  because 
the  Lord  of  heaven  lived  there.  Consequently  the  peo- 
ple walking  in  the  brightest  light  and  rejecting  it,  sink 
into  the  darkest  hell.  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  like  Tjrre 
and  Sidon,  were  heathen  cities,  among  the  first  founded 
after  the  flood ;  the  former  in  the  beautiful  rich  Vale  of 
Siddim,  lying  between  the  great  mountains  of  Moab  on 
the  east  and  Canaan  on  the  west,  and  bordering  on  the 
Salt  Sea. 

Four  times  have  I  passed  through  that  country.  It  is 
now  a  desert  waste,  the  effect  of  the  awful  woe  which 
God  sent  upon  them  in  the  days  of  Abraham.  Here 
Jesus  rejoices  that  the  deep  things  of  God  are  hidden 
from  the  worldly  wise  and  the  prudent,  and  revealed 
unto  the  simple-hearted,  humble,  meek  and  lowly  babes 
in  Christ.  Matt.  11:28.  "€ome  unto  me  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
This  is  the  rest  of  pardon,  free  for  all  broken-hearted 
penitents  who  are  laboring  to  save  their  own  souls,  which 
is  an  utter  impossibility;  and  yet  the  normal  effect  of 
a  true  conviction,  "take  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn 
of  me,  because  I  am  meek,  lowly  in  heart ;  and  you  shall 
find  rest  unto  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy  and  my 
burden  is  light."  This  is  the  second  rest,  vividly  and 
clearly  contrasted  with  the  first,  which  is  rest  from 


98  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

sin,  and  the  second  is  the  repose  of  the  soul,  resting 
sweetly,  when  all  its  enemies  have  been  turned  out. 
The  old  Methodists  all  made  an  irrefragible  argument 
for  the  two  works  of  grace  from  this  scripture.  Luke 
7"  :36-50.  While  Jesus  responds  to  the  kind  invitation  of 
a  kind  Pharisee  to  dine  with  him,  a  poor  prostitute,  who 
had  been  converted  under  his  preaching  on  the  street, 
manages  to  slip  in  with  the  crowd,  unobserved,  as  the 
Pharisee  would  certainly  have  prohibited  her  from  en- 
tering his  house  if  he  had  known  it.  While  eating  with 
his  left  side  to  the  table  and  his  feet  accessible  from 
without,  he  recognizes  the  presence  of  the  woman,  bath- 
ing his  feet  with  her  tears,  wiping  them  with  the  hairs 
of  her  head  and  anointing  them  with  myrrh.  The  solu- 
tion is  the  simple  fact  that  her  heart  was  so  flooded 
with  loving  gratitude  that  when  she  stooped  down  to 
anoint  his  feet,  her  grateful  tears  spontaneously  poured 
forth,  copiously  irrigating  them.  Then,  feeling  that  she 
had  somewhat  polluted  them,  she  seeks  to  purify  them 
by  wiping  away  the  tears  with  her  flowing  hair.  Now 
Jeeus  interviews  his  landlord  in  reference  to  the  two 
debtors,  the  one  owing  him  five  hundred  denaria,  (i.  e.. 
seventy-five  dollars) ;  and  the  other  fifty,  (i.  e.,  $7.50). 
When  the  creditor  freely  forgave  them  both  he  proceeded 
to  interrogate  him ;  which  one  will  love  him  most  ?  The 
landlord  responds,  "The  one  to  whom  he  forgave  most." 
Then  Jesus  makes  the  application  to  this  poor,  fallen  wo- 
man, finally  affirming  that  her  sins  are  forgiven  and 
saying  to  her,  "Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee ;  go  in  peace.'^ 
We  must  not  conclude  from  this  act  in  our  Lord's 
mmistry,  that  he  sets  a  premium  on  sin;  far  from  it. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  when  great  sinners  are  saved,  they 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  99 

have  a  more  superabounding  love,  in  the  sense  of  grat- 
itude, than  persons  born  in  the  kingdom  and  abiding 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.  Yet  the  latter 
possesses  grander  resources  of  intellect  and  spirit  than 
the  prodigal  who  has  wasted  his  energies  and  dissipated 
his  resources  in  debauchery,  Lul^e  8  :l-3.  We  here  see 
Jesus  peregrinating  all  Galilee,  accompanied  by  his 
twelve  Apostles  and  the  elect  sisters  who  so  nobly  rep- 
resented the  feminine  wing  of  the  gospel  church;  i.  e., 
Mary  Magdalene,  so  named  from  her  native  city,  which 
still  stands  on  the  northwest  coast  of  the  Galilean  Sea, 
Joanna  the  wife  of  Chuza^  the  steward  of  Herod,  Su- 
sanna and  many  others,  who  continued  to  minister  unto 
him  from  those  things  which  belonged  to  them.  These 
godly  women  not  only  assisted  him  in  his  great  work 
in  the  interest  of  the  souls  and  bodies  of  the  multitudes 
who  constantly  thronged  his  ministry,  but  also  sup- 
plied him  with  food  and  clothing,  and  the  temporalities 
of  life.  As  you  see  Joanna,  whose  home  was  at  Herod's 
palace,  was  prominent  among  the  disciples  of  Jesus. 
Of  course  she  kept  the  royal  court  well  posted  in  the 
stirring  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  at  that  time  electrify- 
ing the  world.' 

THE   SIN-   AGAINST   THE   HOLY   GHOST. 

Matt.  12 :22-37.  Our  Lord's  Galilean  ministry  has 
been  in  progress  about  fifteen  months.  In  the  absence 
of  all  modern  mail  facilities,  we  can  hardly  now  con- 
ceive with  what  tardiness  and  difficulty  the  news  made 
its  way  over  the  earth.  Yet  the  events  in  reference  to 
Jesus  were  so  thrilling,  paradoxical  and  miraculous,  that 


100  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

they  leaped  from  lip  to  lip,  like  lightning  from  the 
skirts  of  the  clonds,  till  not  only  the  entire  Hebrew  pop- 
ulation, but  the  Gentile  world,  was  interpenetrated, 
thrilled,  astounded,  raised  on  tip-toe,  and  magnetized; 
wondering  in  their  unutterable  bewilderment,  what 
shall  be  the  issue  of  these  things.  The  Hierarchy  at 
Jerusalem  are  puzzled  and  driven  to  their  wit's  end  to 
explain  away  his  miracles,  which  they  are  bound  to  do, 
in  order  to  break  the  force  of  his  mighty  works,  which 
were  now  the  riddle  of  theologians  and  the  perplexity  of 
philosophers.  Finally,  after  assiduous  toil,  laying  all 
their  wits  under  contribution,  the  Hierarchy  succeeds 
in  devising  an  exegesis,  which,  in  their  estimation,  actu- 
ally solves  this  vexed  question.  They  all  concur  in  the 
exegesis  and  send  their  delegates  down  into  Galilee  to 
solve  the  mystery,  satisfy  the  people  and  confound  Je- 
sus. The  solution  is  the  simple  hypothesis  that  Jesus 
has  secured  the  services  of  Beelzebub,  the  commander- 
in-chief,  having  authority  over  the  demons  in  that 
country,  so  that  he  had  it  in  his  power  at  will  to  cast 
them  out.  Jesus  meets  the  solution  on  its  merits  in  the 
light  of  reason,  fact  and  common  sense;  certifying  the 
instability  of  a  government  divided  against  itself. 
Though  the  kingdom  of  Satan  in  earth  and  hell,  has  all 
sorts  of  antagonisms,  contrarieties  and  conflicts,  yet  on 
the  line  of  evil  and  opposition  to  God,  it  is  a  unit.  If 
this  were  not  so  it  could  not  stand. 

Now  you  have  the  simple  solution  of  the  sin  against 
the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  impardonable.  It  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  the  imputation  of  His  mighty  works 
to  the  devil.  All  the  saving  power  in  religion  Is  super- 
natural, and  imputable  only  to  the  Holy  Ghost.    When 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee,  101 

you  reject  the  supernatural  from  religion,  you  take  God 
out  of  it  and  leave  nothing  but  poor,  silly,  fallible  hu- 
manism. The  popular  religion  of  all  ages  has  ever  been 
characterized  by  eliminating  the  supernatural.  The 
antediluvians  rejected  God  the  Father,  and  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  flood;  the  Jews  rejected  God  the  Son, 
and  were  destroyed  by  the  Roman  armies.  In  a  similar 
manner  the  Gentile  world  is  even  now  fast  rejecting  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  hastening  into  swift  destruction.  This 
is  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  Is  never  for- 
given, in  this  age;  i.  e.,  the  Gentile  times,  nor  the  age 
to  come,  i.  e.,  the  Millennium.  The  commission  of  this 
sin  is  denominated  "crossing  the  dead  line."  Much  of  it 
is  going  on  at  the  present  day;  and  with  a  downward 
trend  of  the  whole  world,  pursuant  to  its  normal  gravi- 
tation, incessantly  to  a  low  plain;  the  prevalence  of  this 
fatal  and  alarming,  unpardonable  sin,  is  a  matter 
sufficiently  momentous,  to  engross  the  attention  of 
heaven,  earth  and  hell.  Oh,  how  alarmingly  prevalent 
is  this  blasphemy;  i.  e.,  contempt  against  the  Holy 
Ghost!  Romanism,  enmasse^  has  so  crossed  the  dead 
line  that  she  has  no  use  for  the  Holy  Ghost.  Tlie  Pro- 
tectant churches  have  very  little  use  for  Him,  and  are 
fast  moving  in  the  dark  downward  tread  of  their  papal 
predecessor.  The  so-called  holiness  people  are  all  in  the 
world  to-day,  who  really  extend  to  the  Holy  Ghost  a  cor- 
dial welcome.  The  people,  who  do  not  enthrone  the 
Holy  Ghost  within  and  without  are  in  constant  liabili- 
ty of  committing  this  sin,  which  begins  in  depreciation, 
progresses  in  His  elimination,  and  culminates  in  His 
repudiation  and  rejection.  Thus  the  religious  world  is 
committing  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  with  appall- 


103  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

ing  rapidity ;  meanwhile  the  irreligious  world  is  moving 
with  alarming  impetuosity  in  the  direction  of  infidelity. 
Thus  these  two  opposites  of  hell's  battery  are  magnetiz- 
ing and  shaking  the  whole  world  this  day;  infidelity 
rejecting  all  religion,  and  anti-holiness  Cliistianity, 
eliminating  the  Holy  Ghost  out  of  all  religion,  thus 
making  a  lifeless  corpse,  which  they  hug  with  the  su- 
perstitious adoration  of  oriental  paganism,  Luke  11 :21- 
23.  "^\hen  a  strong  man  armed  may  keep  his  palace, 
his  goods  are  in  peace,  but  when  the  man  stronger  than 
he  having  come,  conquers,  he  taketh  away  his  panoply, 
in  >\-hich  he  trusted  and  spoiled  his  goods.''  The  palace; 
the  strong  man  is  the  devil.  Tlie  stronger  man  is 
Jesus.  In  conversion  Jesus  conquers  the  devil  and  casts 
him  out  of  the  heart.  In  sanctification  he  takes  away 
the  carnal  mind,  which  is  Satan's  panoply,  and  destroys 
all  of  Satan's  works.    1  John  3  :8. 

THE  APOSTATE. 

Matt.  12  :38-45.  Though  He  wrought  so  many  mira- 
cles, a^l  giving  uncontrovertible  evidence  of  His  Clirist- 
hood,  yet  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  hang  on  him  night 
and  da}^  persistently  and  incessantly  clamoring  for  a  sign. 
They  wanted  something  like  the  manna  coming  down 
from  Heaven  to  which  they  always  look  back,  regard- 
ing it  the  climax  of  all  miracles  and  the  glory  of 
Moses,  whose  disciples  they  claim  to  be.  ^^When  the  un- 
clean spirit  may  go  out  from  a  man,  he  walketh  througli 
dry  places,  seeking  rest  and  finding  none,  then  he  says,  I 
will  return  into  my  own  house,  whence  I  came  out.  And 
having  come  he  finds  it  empty  having  been  swept  and 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  1C3 

ornamented.     Then  lie  goes  and  tal^es  with  him  seven 
other  spirits    more    wicked  than    himself,  and  having 
come  in  he  dwells  there;  and  the  last  state  is  worse 
than  the  first.     So  it  shall  be  to  the  end  of  this  wicked 
generation."   This  parable  is  terse,  strong,  clear  and  un- 
mistakably presenting  a  case  of  conversion  followed  by 
apostrophe,  because    the  man  did    not  get    sanctified. 
Every  unconverted  soul  ii  occupied  by  one  or  more  evil 
spirits,  who  are  cast  out  in  conversion.     There  it  says 
that  the  spirit  was  unclean,  doubtless  the  demon  of  lust, 
so  common  and  fatal  with  fallen  humanity.     Doubtless 
the  man  is  looked  upon  as  a  high-toned  gentleman,  in- 
dulging his  diabolical  propensity,  under  the  shadow  of 
night,  and  irreproachable  on  other  lines  of  popular  sin. 
He  gets  converted,  the  unclean  spirit  being  cast  out. 
Now  the  sane     unclean  spirit,  like  all     other  demons, 
wants  some  human  soul  for  his  dwelling  place.     Mov- 
ing around  for  a  time,  he  finds  no  open  door;  but  every- 
thing dry  and  uninteresting,  people  rejecting  him  on  all 
sides.     Then  he  resolves  to  return  and  seek  admission 
into  the  soul  out  of  whom  he  has  been  cast.    He  finds  it 
empty,  i.  e.,  no  spirit  occupying  it.     He  also  finds  that 
all  the  pollutions  wrought  in  it  by  a  former  wicked  life, 
had  been  experegrinated  away,  and  it  is  adorned  with 
the  blooming  flowers  of  a  new  creation,  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  always  brings  in  regeneration.     He  attempts  an 
entrance,  but  signally  fails,  rejected  and  repudiated  with 
contempt.     He  now  brings  with  him  seven  other  spir- 
its,  more  wicked  than  himself.     They   effect  an   en- 
trance, take  possession  of  that  soul,  and  as  he  now  has 
seven  distinct  lines  of  wickedness  instead  of  one,  the 
last  state  is  worse  than  the  first.    The  one,  on  returning, 


104  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

found  his  old  house  thoroughly  cleaned  up,  renovated 
and  beautified ;  yet  it  was  without  an  inhabitant.  Whea 
the  penitent  'sinner  cries  to  God  out  of  a  broken  heart, 
He  sends  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  cast  out  the  demons,  and 
renew  his  heart  in  the  likeness  of  God.  Yet  before  the 
Holy  Ghost  will  make  him  the  habitant  of  his  royal  per- 
sonality, he  must  receive  a  vastly  deeper  purgation,  ex- 
terminating the  very  virus  of  sin,  taking  Satan's  last 
nest  egg  out  of  the  heart,  then  he  moves  in  to  stay.  If 
he  had  been  living  in  the  heart  above  mentioned,  he 
would  have  proved  more  than  a  match  for  the  seven 
devils,  utterly  discounterfeited  and  flooded  the  soul  with 
victory. 

CONSANGUINITY  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

While  Jesus  is  preaching  to  vast  multitudes,  labor- 
'ing  incessantly,  healing  the  sick  and  casting  out  the  de- 
mons, some  one  elbows  his  way  through  the  crowd  and 
notifies  him  that  his  mother  and  brothers  are  standing 
off  on  the  outskirts  of  the  eager,  gazing,  listening 
throng,  and  anxious  to  speak  to  him.  They  doubtless 
thought  he  was  killing  himself  at  work,  and  depriving 
them  of  his  presence  in  the  home.  Consequently  they 
wanted  to  see  him,  prevail  on  him  to  desist,  go  home 
with  them  and  rest.  Eeaching  out  toward  his  disci- 
ples he  certifies  that  they  are  his  loving  kindred,  and 
so  are  all  who  do  the  will  of  his  Father,  the  conclu- 
sion from  this  is  plain  and  simple.  The  consanguinity 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  stronger  than  that  of  nature.  In 
early  life  we  stick  to  our  home  folks  with  ardent  per- 
tinacity, believing  them  to  be  the  best  people  in  the 
world.     As  we  learn  more  of  God  and  sink  deeper  into 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee,  105 

the  mysteries  of  His  divinty  and  become  more  flooded 
with  His  love;  His  people  become  nearer  and  dearer 
to  us;  our  native  consanguinity  passing  farther  from 
the  range  of  our  spiritual  vision ;  really,  like  Ruth,  God's 
people  become  our  people  with  whom  we  resolve  to  live 
and  to  die.     Matt.  12  :46-50. 

BAPTISM^  A  PURIFICATION. 

Luke  12  :37-41.  On  this  occasion  Jesus  having  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  of  a  Pharisee  to  dine  with  him, 
coming  in  sat  down  at  the  table  without  washing  His 
hands.  The  Pharisees  were  very  particular  about  hand 
washing  every  time  before  eating,  lest  some  ceremonial 
defilement  might  have  been  contracted.  Therefore  he 
was  astonished  when  Jesus  proceeded  to  eat  without  wash- 
ing His  hands.  The  Greek  for  wash  in  this  passage  is. 
ehaptisWiee,  was  baptized.  As  this  is  the  word  con- 
stantly used  in  the  New  Testament  for  the  ordinance  of 
baptism,  here  you  get  a  clear  definition  of  a  problem 
which  has  been  much  controverted.  Y.  39  gives  kathari- 
zete,  which  simply  means  purify,  as  the  inspired  defini- 
tion of  baptize.  Hence  water  baptism  is  nothing  but  a 
ceremonial  purification^  performed  by  the  affusion  or  im- 
mersion of  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  body,  as  we  see 
in  this  case,  the  washing  was  the  baptism  of  the  man. 

WOES  AGAINST  THE  THEOLOGIANS. 

45-54.  Here  our  Lord  pronounces  terrible,  scathing 
and  withering  woes  against  the  lawyers  (E.  V.,  the 
Theologians,  as  they  meant  the  exponents  of  the  Scrip- 


106  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

tures,  and  not  civil  law}^ers),  accusing  them  of  laying 
heavy  burdens  on  the  people  which  they  themselves  dis- 
dained to  bear.  We  now  live  in  an  age  of  ecclesiastical 
oppression  in  the  interest  of  the  secular  clergy,  that 
they  may  live  in  pomp  and  splendor,  while  Jesus  whose 
ministers  they  claim  to  be  had  not  a  place  to  lay  his 
head;  he  accuses  them  of  corroborating  the  murder  of 
the  prophets  by  their  fathers,  because  they  built  their 
sepulchres.  "Therefore  then  indeed  the  wisdom  said,  I 
will  send  unto  them  prophets  and  apostles,  some  of  them 
they  will  slay  and.  persecute,  in  order  that  the  blood  of 
all  the  prophets,  which  has  been  shed  from  the  founda- 
tions of  the  world,  may  be  required  from  this  genera- 
tion, from  the  blood  of  Abel  unto  the  blood  of  Zechariah, 
who  was  slain  between  the  altar  and  the  house.  Yea,  I 
say  unto  you,  it  shall  be  required  of  this  generation.^' 

You  have  the  history  of  this  bloody  tragedy  in  2 
Chron.  24:20.  Waen  Ahaziah,  king  of  the  Jews,  was 
slain  by  Jehn  at  Jezreel  in  Samaria,  his  mother  Atha- 
liah  usurped  the  throne,  killed  all  of  his  children  ex- 
cept the  baby  Joash  whom  the  nurse  hid,  and  reigned 
over  the  Jews  in  idolatry  and  Tvdckedness  seven  years. 
Then  Jehoiad'a,  the  priest,  a  godly  man,  who  had  taken 
care  of  the  infant  king  Joash,  brought  him  to  the  tem- 
ple at  the  age  of  seven  and  crowned  him  King.  Then 
the  people  slew  the  wicked  grandmother  who  had  usurp- 
ed the  throne.  Joash  reigned  all  right  during  the  life  of 
Jehoiada,  who  favored  him  with  his  prayers  and  his 
counsel.  Wlien  the  old  priest  passed  away  ,the  young 
King  yielded  to  the  flattery  of  the  elders  who  led  him 
into  idolatn^  Then  G-od  put  the  spirit  of  prophecy  on 
Zechariah,  the  son  of  the  priest,  who  lifted  up  his  voice 


Je^us.  Preaching  in,  Galilee.  107 

md  cried  against  the  wicked  reign  of  Joash.  Then  the 
king  ordered  them  to  stone  him.  So  he  died  between 
the  brazen  altar  and  the  temple.  Thus  the  wicked  king 
slew  the  son  of  the  godly  priest,  who  had  saved  his 
life  and  given  him  the  kingdom. 

V.  62.  "Woe  unto  you,  theologians,  because  you 
have  taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge ;  you  did  not  en- 
ter in  and  3'ou  prevented  those  who  are  coming  in.^'  If 
the  leading  clergy  had  received  Jesus  unto  the  preaching 
of  John  the  Baptist  the  rank  and  file  of  the  priesthood 
would  have  followed  their  example;  while  the  member- 
ship, by  millions,  would  have  rushed  into  the  gospel 
kingdom,  in  the  track  of  their  leaders,  hailing  Jesus  by 
Shiloh  of  prophesy,  the  Christ  of  God,  the  Eedeemer  of 
Israel  and  the  Savior  of  the  world;  thus  His  coming 
proving  a  sunburst  on  the  nation  and  honoring  them 
with  a  commission  to  preach  His  gospel  to  the  whole 
Gentile  world.  This  would  have  expedited  his  glorious  re- 
turn on  the  throne  of  his  Millennial  theocracy,  putting 
the  devil  out  of  the  world,  filling  the  whole  earth  with 
the  splendor  of  his  glory,  and  crowning  the  saints  with 
the  dominion  of  the  nations.  How  history  anon  turns 
back  on  its  own  track !  If  the  leading  clergy  of  all  de- 
nominations had  received  the  holiness  movement  with 
joyous  welcome,  the  preachers  by  myriads  would  have 
sought  and  found  sanctification.  Oh,  how  the  members 
of  the  different  churches,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  would  ac- 
tually stampede  out  of  the  howling  wilderness  into  the 
land  of  corn  and  wine!  As  in  the  days  of  Christ  the 
leading  preachers  and  ruling  elders  are  standing  in  the 
way  of  the  moving  host. 


108  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

ANTI-LODGERY. 

Luke  12  :l-5.  Nothing  is  hidden,  which  should  not 
be  revealed,  and  concealed  which  shall  not  be  known. 
Therefore  so  many  things  as  you  speak  in  the  darkness 
shall  be  heard  in  the  light,  and  whatsoever  you  have 
spoken  in  the  ear  in  secret  chambers,  shall  be  pro- 
claimed on  the  house  tops.  Entire  sanctification  saves 
us  from  all  secrecy,  except  the  "secret  of  the  Lord, 
which  is  with  them  that  fear  him."  When  the  Lord 
sanctified  me  thirty-three  years  ago,  I  was  a  Free  Mason, 
and  an  Odd  Fellow  both.  The  fires  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
burnt  out  secrecy  and  lodgery;  so  they  evanesced  away 
like  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream,  never  to  return.  When  we 
get  full  of  Jesus  we  have  no  room  for  anything  else.  "I 
say  unto  you,  my  friends ;  be  not  afraid  of  those  who  kill 
the  body  and  after  these  things,  are  not  able  to  do  any- 
thing more.  But  I  will  show  you  whom  you  should 
fear;  fear  him  who  after  he  is  killed  has  power  to  cast 
into  hell;  truly  I  say  unto  you  fear  you  him."  Satan 
is  the  king  of  hell.  He  is  the  author  of  sin  and  death. 
He  really  kills  the  body  and  casts  the  soul  into  hell.  So 
long  as  you  are  in  sin,  you  are  in  his  kingdom.  His  plan 
is  to  keep  you  there  till  you  die  and  then  cast  you  into 
hell.  Your  only  security  is  to  leave  him  at  once  and 
make  your  escape  from  his  dominion  with  all  possible 
expedition. 

THE  RICH  FOOL. 

Luke  12:16-21.  "And  he  spoke  a  parable;  I  will 
take  down  my  barns  and  build  greater.,  and  will  srather 


Jesus  Preachina  in  Galilee.  109 

there  all  my  i'ruits  and  goods,  and  will  say  to  my  soul : 
soul,  thou  hast  many  goods  laid  up  for  many  years ;  take 
thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  be  merry.  And  God  said  to  him : 
thou  fool,  this  night  they  demand  thy  soul  from  thee: 
and  to  whom  shall  those  things  belong  which  thou  hast 
prepared?  So  is  every  one  who  lays  up  treasures  for 
himself  and  is  not  rich  for  God/'  Oh,  how  comprehensive 
the  simple  and  w^onderf ul  teaching  of  Jesus !  I  fear  this 
little  parable  actually  includes  the  majority  of 
the  people  in  this  wicked,  God-forgetting  world.  On 
all  sides  we  see  them  doing  precisely  like  this  rich  fool. 
Death  always  comes  suddienly  to  the  unprepared.  Sa- 
tan spreads  before  them  the  phantasmagoria  of  vain 
hope,  till  the  last  moment  takes  its  flight  and  demons 
drag  the  soul  into  hell  instead  of  "thy  soul  s>hall  be  re- 
quired of  thee."  E.  Y.  The  true  reading  is  "They  re- 
quire thy  soul  from  thee;  the  nominative  to  require, 
being  the  evil  spirits  who  have  held  him  in  custody  all 
his  life  and  now,  actually  demand  his  soul  for  hell." 
The  raven  of  the  Bible,  is  identical  with  the  crow  of  this 
country.  Doubtless  at  that  time  many  ravens  were  fly- 
ing in  full  view.  Therefore  Jesus  beautifully  alludes  to 
them,  so  happy,  cheerful  and  free  from  care.  So  he  re- 
minds them  that  God  feeds  all  the  ravens,  and  we  are 
much  more  important  than  the  birds  which  fly  in  the 
air.  He  reminds  his  audience  how  God  feeds  us  like  the 
f^rds  and  clothes  us  like  the  lilies  than  even  Solomon  in 
all  his  glory. 

TRUE  NEW  TESTAMENT  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

32-45.    "Fear  not,  little  flock,  because  your  father  i& 


110  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

delighted  to  give  unto  you  the  kingdom/'  Jesus  came 
the  first  time  to  establish  on  the  earth  the  kingdom  of 
^race,  righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Rom.  14:17.  None  but  citizens  of  this  kingdom  are 
identified  with  "the  little  flock/'  of  His  true  and  loving 
disciples.  Therefore  the  kingdom  which  the  Father  is 
going  to  give  "the  little  flock"  is  the  glorious  Millennial, 
which  Jesus  will  bring  when  "He  comes  again."  "Let 
your  loins  stand  girded  about,  and  your  lamps  burning ; 
and  be  you  like  unto  men  waiting  for  their  Lord,  when 
He  shall  rise  up  from  the  wedding,  in  order  that  com- 
ing 'and  knocking  they  shall  immediately  open  to  Him. 
Blessed  are  those  servants  whom  the  Lord  having  come 
will  find  watching;  truly  I  say  unto  you  that  He  will 
gird  himself  and  have  them  down,  and  having  come  will 
serve  them.  And  if  He  may  come  the  second  watch  and 
at  the  third  as  you  may  so  find,  happier  those  servants. 
Know  this  that  if  the  landlord  knew  at  what  hour  the 
thief  Cometh;  he  had  watched  and  not  suffered  his 
house  to  be  broken  into.  Be  therefore  ready  because  you 
think  not  the  hour  the  Son  of  man  cometh."  Lan- 
guage can  not  possibly  portray  a  more  forcible  exhorta- 
tion to  us  all  to  be  constantly  on  the  outlook  for  the 
Lord  to  appear.  You  see  here  the  true  attitude  of  all 
saints  is  that  of  constant  expectancy,  indicated  by  the 
standing  posture,  ready  to  move  without  taking  time  to 
get  up;  the  girded  loins  ready  for  an  oriental  journey, 
as  they  all  wear  loose  apparel.  And  he  specifies  that 
we  are  to  be  on  the  outlook  for  His  appearing,  as  He 
is  liable  at  any  moment  to  get  up  "from  the  wedding" ; 
i.  e.,  heaven  is  described  as  a  constant  and  everlasting 
wedding  festival.    He  is  here  described  as  meeting  his 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  Ill 

bride,  coming  like  a  thief  in  the  night.  To  the  bride  he 
is  like  a  thief  because  he  comes  to  steal  her  away,  thougli 
s'he  is  wide-awake  and  looking  for  him.  To  the  wicked 
world  he  comes  like  a  thief  because  they  are  all  fast 
asleep  and  not  looking  for  him,  which  is  the  condition 
of  people  when  their  property  gets  stolen.  He  not  onl}' 
exhorts  us  to  be  ready  and  watching,  but  he  pronounces 
a  glorious  benediction  on  those  servants  whom  He  shall 
find  watching.  Henoe  the  grandest  conceivable  induce- 
ment is  offered  by  the  Savior  to  prevail  on  all  of  His  dis- 
ciples to  be  incessantly  on  the  outlook.  On  the  contrary 
He  pronounces  terrible  woes  and  calamities  on  all  ol 
those  who  are  not  watching  for  His  appearing.  He  pro- 
nounces the  unwatchful  preacher  a  wicked  servant  who 
will  be  cut  off  and  receive  his  portion,  when  the  Lord 
comes,  with  hypocrites  and  unbelievers.  I  do  not  see 
how  any  person  reading  the  plain  and  unmistakable 
words  of  Jesus,  can  possibly  be  a  post-millennialist.  Be- 
cause, if  he  is  expecting  the  millennium  to  come  and  last 
a  thousand  years,  before  Jesus  returns  to  the  earth,  he 
cannot  possibly  be  looking  for  Him.  Good  Lord,  help 
us  all  to  receive  and  believe  thy  plain  and  unmistakable 
words,  govern  ourselves  accordingly,  and  live  night  and 
day  in  constant  readiness  and  outlook  for  thy  appear- 
ing. 

THE  FIRE  OF  THE  HOLT  GHOST. 

50-53.  "I  have  come  to  send  fire  on  the  earth,  and 
what  do  I  wish  indeed  if  it  is  already  kindled.'^  The 
grand  culmination  of  the  Savior^s  ministry,  was  the  de- 
scension  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Pentecost,  for  whose  dis- 


112  L^f^  ^f  fesus  and  His  Avostles. 

pensation,  He  gloriously  and  triumphantly  prepared  the 
way  by  satisfying  the  violated  law  with  His  own  vicari- 
ous death,  and  sweeping  every  difficulty  from  the  field 
by  his  substitutionary  atonement.  "I  have  a  baptism  to  be 
baptized  with,  and  how  am  I  straightened  until  it  may 
be  perfected/^  Baptism  means  purification.  Jesus  took 
on  Himself  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  and  expiated 
them  by  His  death.  2  Cor.  5  :21.  Hence  His  expiatory 
sufferings  on  the  cross  was  the  greatest  baptism  the 
world  has  ever  known;  for  in  them  He  really  expia^ted 
every  sin  that  ever  blackened  humanity  and  darkened 
hell  in  all  the  ages,  the  work  being  so  complete  as  forev- 
er to  preclude  all  legal  necessity  for  the  damnation  of 
a  solitary  souL 

THE    SALVATION    OF    THE    LORD   PRODUCES   DIVISION. 

"Do  you  think  I  have  come  to  send  peace  on  the 
earth?  No,  I  say  unto  you,  but  division.  For  from 
henceforth  there  shall  be  five  in  one  house  divided,  three 
against  two  and  two  against  three.  The  father  shall  be 
divided  against  the  son  and  the  son  against  the  father, 
the  mother  against  the  daughter  and  the  daughter 
against  the  mother,  and  the  mother-in-law  against  the 
daughter-in-law,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against  her 
mother-in-law.'^  The  real  salvation  of  Christ  has  al- 
ways divided  up  families,  communities  and  churches, 
and  always  will,  till  Satan  is  taken  out  of  the  world,  and 
the  Millennium  comes.  While  the  devil  reigns  the  sal- 
vation of  whole  families  and  churches  is  hardly  to  be  ex- 
pected, as  his  grip  is  so  tight,  he  will  hold  some,  if  not 
all.     Dead,  formal  religion  gives  no  trouble  by  dividing 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  113 

families  and  churches;  from  the  simple  fact  that  when 
the  devil  has  aU,  he  raises  no  fuss. 

SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

54-59.  Here  Jesus  scathingly  denounces  the  clergy 
and  elders  as  hypocrites,  because,  while  they  are  shrewd 
detectives  of  all  meteorological  phenomina;  they  are  so 
blind  spiritually,  that  they  cannot  discern  the  signs  in 
the  prophetical  and  spiritual.  Already  the  sceptre  has 
departed  from  Judah,  Gen.  49:10,  and  the  seventy 
weeks  of  Daniel  have  just  about  expired ;  John  the  Bap- 
tist, the  greatest  prophet,  has  come  and  not  only  preach- 
es Jesus  the  Messiah,  but  actually  pointed  Him  out  to 
the  people.  Yet  the  hierarchy  and  eldership  were  so 
blind  that  they  could  not  see  Him.  This  day  we  have  a 
repetition  of  the  same  sad  phenomenon.  While  all  na- 
tions in  grand  panorama  are  wonderfully  fulfilling  the 
latter  day  prophesies,  flooding  the  world  with  auspicious 
omens  of  the  Lord's  near  coming;  yet  the  churches  are 
filled  with  the  cultured  clergy  and  eldership,  shrewd 
in  the  diagnosis  of  temporal  things,  but  blind  to  the 
signs  of  the  times. 

THE    IMPENITENTS    ARE    CERTAIN"    TO    PERISH. 

Luke  13  :l-5.  Here  Jesus  enforces  this  inflexible 
reality  by  an  allusion  to  the  dismal  doom  of  certain 
Galileans,  whom  Pilate  slew  on  the  Temple  Campus, 
while  oifering  up  their  sacrifices,  so  their  blood  mingled 
with  that  of  their  sacrifices.  Also  another  case  when 
fighting  in  a  siege  at  Jerusalem,  the  tower  Siloam  fell 


114  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

on  eighteen  and  crushed  them.  He  uses  these  alarm- 
ing illustrations  of  bloody  massacre  to  illustrate  the 
fact  that  this  similar  irretrievable  destruction  assuredly 
awaits  all  finally  impenitent  sinners. 

THE  FIG  TREE  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

6-9.  The  land  of  Canaan^  the  garden  spot  of  the 
world,  doubtless  as  local  tradition  affirms,  the  identical 
Eden,  is  the  Lord's  vineyard,  in  this  parable,  while  the 
Jewish  people  are  represented  by  the  fig-tree  growing 
and  flourishing  in  the  vineyard.  The  three  years,  dur- 
ing which  the  vine  dre&ser  sought  the  fruit,  are  the 
three  years  of  the  Lord's  ministry,  during  which  the 
tree  was  cultivated,  fertilized  and  irrigated  by  His  won- 
derful preaching  and  mighty  miracles.  Finally  the  tsse 
having  utterly  failed  to  bear  fruit  was  cut  down  when 
the  Roman  armies,  in  a  seven  years'  war,  A.  D.  56-73, 
desolated  the  land  and  exterminated  the  nation. 

PARABLE    OF    THE    SOWER. 

Matt.  13  :l-23.  This  beautiful,  lucid  and  ample  exe- 
gesis of  the  gospel  kingdom  is  recorded  in  Matthew  13, 
Mark  4  and  Luke  8.  While  the  Lord  gives  an  ex- 
position of  the  kingdom  under  the  similitude  of  these 
seven  parables,  that  of  the  sower  is  generic,  comprehend- 
ing the  entire  problem  of  human  redemption,  while  the 
other  six  are  specific,exhibitory  of  so  many  distinct  phas- 
es of  the  gospel  kingdom.  This  notable  sermon  on  the 
kingdom  opens  with  four  distinct  sowings:  the  first  on 
the  hard,  dry  ground,  along  the  public  road,  which  is 


Jesus  Preaching  m  Galilee.  115 

speedily  picked  up  and  devoured  by  the  ravens ;  the  sec- 
ond falls  on  stony  ground,  germinates  quickly,  grows 
rapidly,  bids  fair  to  produce  an  abundant  crop,  but  un- 
der the  burning  summer  sun,  when  the  vernal  showers 
cease  to  fall,  is  speedily  blighted,  utterly  dried  up,  and 
proves  a  total  failure.  The  third  sowing  falls  into  rich 
soil,  but  preemptorially  productive  of  thorns,  so  the  crop 
springs  up,  flourishes  quite  a  while  and  bids  fair  to  prove 
a  grand  success,  but  finally  the  thorns  crowd,  spindle  and 
dwarf  it,  till  the  fruit  ultimately  proves  a  failure.  The 
fourth  sowing  is  in  good  ground  and  does  amazingly 
well,  producing,  some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  a 
hundred  fold.  Hence  you  see  that  out  of  the  four  sow- 
ings, only  one  proved  a  final  success.  The  ground  is  the 
heart.  The  good  ground  is  the  sanctified  heart;  hence 
the  only  hope  of  an  availability  in  all  of  our  gospel  en- 
terprises is  to  get  the  people  sanctified,  without  which 
all  our  labor  is  destined  to  be  a  final  and  eternal  failure. 
Is  there  no  hope  for  the  wayside  sowing  ?  This  takes  in 
the  helter-skelter  rabble,  who  go  to  church  for  fun  and 
pastime,  the  gospel  rings  into  one  ear  and  out  at  the 
other,  and  they  getting  nothing.  Now  let  us  fence  up 
this  hard,  barren  wayside  land  with  prayer-meetings, 
Sunday-schools,  family  altars,  personal  appeals  and  holi- 
ness literature,  keeping  stock  off,  till  the  irrigating  rains 
and  winter  freezes  soften,  loosen  and  pulverize  the  earth, 
till  the  seed  finds  lodgment,  germinates  and  does  well.  So 
we  save  the  wayside  sowing.  What  about  the  stony 
ground  ?  Go  into  it  with  the  crow-bars,  sledge-hammers, 
gun  powder  and  d}mamite  of  entire  sanctification ;  blow 
up,  take  out  all  of  the  rocks,  use  them  to  erect  your 
buildings,  fence  your  lands,  make  pikes  and  pavements. 


116  Life  of  Jesus  and  Ills  Apostles. 

Burn  the  fragments  into  lime  to  enrich  your  soil  so 
you  turn  it  into  good  ground^,  and  it  comes  out  all  right. 
What  about  the  thorny  ground  ?  While  the  stony  ground 
here  is  quickly  converted  and  falls  speedily,  the  thorny 
ground  shows  up  a  better  case,  remains  in  the  church,  is 
regarded  as  a  good  member,  but  eventuall}'  drifts  away 
into  worldliness,  captured  by  the  cares  of  the  world  and 
its  deceitfulness,  till  he  sinks  down  into  dead  formality, 
and  degenerates  into  hollow  hypocrisy.  Now  use  dili- 
gently the  grubbing-hoe,  mattock,  spade  and  the  flying 
Dutchman  plow,  and  you  will  get  rid  of  all  the  thorn 
roots  and  thoroughly  purify  your  soil,  transforming  it 
into  good  ground.  You  see  here  the  wonderful  growth 
in  grace;  one  reaches  the  end  of  life  with  thirty  times 
as  much  religion  as  when  he  began;  the  other,  sixty 
times  as  much  as  w^hen  converted,  and  still  another 
winds  up  with  a  hundred  times  as  much  grace  as  when 
he  rejoiced  in  the  raptures  of  a  new-born  soul. 

PARABLE  OF  TARES. 

13-53.  This  parable  has  the  solitary  signification 
of  revealing  clearly  and  explicitly  the  counterfeit  pro- 
fessor. The  tare  in  the  Old  World  corresponds  with  the 
chaff  of  this  country.  V.  2G.  "And  when  the  stalk 
grew  up  and  produced  fruit,  then  the  tares  truly  ap- 
peared.^' We  see  from  this  statement  a  confirmation  of 
the  fact,  which  we  have  all  frequently  observed;  i.  e., 
that  the  tares  look  like  wheat  till  the  heads  develop,  il- 
lustrating the  fact  that  this  counterfeit  professor  is  not 
an  immoral,  outbreaking  sinner,  but  a  nice,  clever  gen- 
tleman, living  in  harmony  with  the  moral  law  and  con- 


Jesus  Freaching  in  Galilee.  117 

forming  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of   the   visible 
church. 

Kom.  6:22.  "Therefore  being  made  free  from  sin, 
we  have  our  fruit  unto  sanctification,  and  in  the  end 
eternal  life."  So  the  tare  looks  precisely  like  wheat  till 
the  formation  of  the  fruit.  Then  we  see  that  it  is  not 
wheat  at  all,  but  chaff.  The  application  of  this  parable 
to  the  ungodly,  impenitent,  frolicking  church  members 
is  utterly  untrue.  They  are  not  tares,  but  cockleburs. 
Our  Lord  says  the  field  is  the  world,  and  the  Son  of 
man  sows  the  good  seed ;  i.  e.,  the  children  of  the  king- 
dom, while  the  devil  sows  the  tares.  At  the  end  of  the 
age;  i.  e.,  the  gospel  age,  which  will  continue  to  the 
Millennium,  the  tares  will  be  gathered  and  burned.  This 
is  the  tribulation.  As  you  see  (v.  42,  43)  after  this  will 
follow  the  glorious  millennial  harvest,  Satan  having  been 
taken  out  of  the  world,  will  sow  no  more  tares,  while  the 
whole  earth  will  be  turned  into  a  glorious  wheatfield. 
N.  B. — This  parable  simply  sets  forth  Satan's  counter- 
feit phase  of  the  kingdom. 

THE  CORNSTALK. 

Mark  4:26-29.  Corn  in  the  Bible  always  means 
wheat,  barley  and  other  cereal  grains,  being  generic  and 
comprehending  all  the  species.  This  parable  simply  re- 
veals the  epochal  phase  of  the  kingdom.  Germination 
of  the  grain  is  regeneration,  followed  by  the  normal 
growth  in  grace.  The  formation  of  the  head:  i.  e., 
the  development  of  the  fruit,  is  sanctification  (Eom.  6 : 
22),  while  the  ripening  of  the  grain  into  thorough  solid- 
ification, so  it  will  keep  in  any  climate,  is  glorification. 


118  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

These  are  all  distinct  works  wrought  in  the  heart  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  beautifully  revealed  in  their  distinct 
epoch  by  this  parable. 

THE  GROWTH  PHASE  OF  THE  KINGDOM. 

Matt.  13  :31,  32.  The  mustard  tree  is  one  of  the 
largest  in  Palestine.  If  you  ever  visit  that  country,  you 
will  find  a  number  of  them  growing  at  the  Fountain 
Engedi  (Ezek.  47  :12),  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  Dead 
Sea.  While  it  is  a  noted  fact  that  the  seed  is  very  small 
and  fuzzy,  like  that  of  our  sycamore,  here  He  alludes  to 
the  rendezvous  of  beasts  iii  the  shadow  and  the  birds  of 
the  air  in  the  branches  of  this  majestic  tree.  So  in  re- 
generation, the  Holy  Spirit  imparts  a  scintilla  of  divine 
life  to  the  dead  soul.  That  life  develops  on,  not  only 
through  probation,  but  all  eternity.  The  gathering  of 
the  beasts  and  birds  to  enjoy  the  shade  of  this  tree  and 
find  a  cooling  refuge  from  the  burning  heat  of  a  semi- 
tropical  climate,  beautifully  illustrates  the  benignity  of 
a  paragon  saint  in  a  community,  dispensing  blessings  in- 
definable to  all  who  Cometh  within  his  influence,  even 
though  they  do  not  enjoy  the  close  walk  with  God,  which 
makes  him  the  double  blessing  of  sunshine  and  showers 
to  the  poor  victims  of  sin  and  sorrow,  who  were  so  un- 
fortunate as  to  participate  in  the  benediction  of  his  phil- 
anthropy. 

THE  AGGEESSIVE  PHASE   OF  THE   KINGDOM. 

33.  "He  spake  another  parable  to  them :  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  liken  unto  leaven  which  a  woman,  hav- 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galil&e,  119 

ing  received,  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal  until  all  were 
leavened."'  This  parable  has  frequently  been  misinter- 
preted, construing  the  leaven  homogenious  with  the 
kingdom,  which  is  not  correct.  He  does  not  say  that  it 
is  the  kingdom,  but  the  kingdom  is  like  unto  leaven. 
That  old  unjust  judge  who  neither  fears  God  nor  re- 
gards man  (Luke  18)  symbolizes  our  blessed  Heavenly 
Father;  but,  only  in  the  attitude  of  absolute  sovereign 
independency.  Leaven  means  nothing  in  the  Bible  but 
corruption ;  i.  e.,  inbred  sin.  Hence  the  Jews  had  to  be 
very  careful  at  the  Passover  to  see  that  there  was  no 
leaven  in  their  bread,  which  really,  like  the  lamb,  em- 
blematized Christ. 

1  Cor.  5  :6.  "Cleanse  out  the  old  leaven  in  order  that 
you  may  be  a  new  lump,  as  you  are  free  from  leaven; 
for  Christ  has  become  our  Passover.^'  Here  the  old  leav- 
en is  the  old  man  (i.  e.,  inbred  sin),  which  is  cleansed 
out  of  us  in  sanctification,  so  that  we  become  free  from 
the  leaven  of  inbred  sin,  like  Christ,  who  is  our  example. 
It  is  a  significant  fact  that  leaven — i.  e.,  corruption :  i. 
e.,  decomposition;  i.  e.,  disintegration — is  the  most  ag- 
gressive thing  in  the  world.  A  solitary  fly-blow  will 
taint  a  ham.  One  rotten  apple,  or  potato,  will  ruin  a 
w^hole  barrel.  So  inbred  sin  never  ceases  to  work  night 
nor  day.  It  steadily  moves  on  to  the  ruin  of  the  soul. 
the  family  and  the  world.  In  point  of  aggression,  holi- 
ness is  like  sin,  moving  steadfastly  onward  to  the  con- 
quest of  the  world,  destined  to  cover  the  earth  as  the 
waters  cover  the  sea ;  nothing  being  competent  to  antag- 
onize it  but  the  human  will.  Mother  Eve  is  the  fallen 
woman  who  received  this  leaven  from  the  devil  and 
transmitted  it  to  all  her  posterity;    Shem,  Ham  and 


120  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Japheth^  the  three  measures  of  antediluvian  meal,  who 
survived  the  flood  and  transmitted  this  leaven  to  the 
postdiluvian  world,  Shem  receiving  Asia;  Ham,  Africa, 
and  Japheth,  Europe,  to  whic'h  America  was  added ;  and 
eo  this  leaven  has  reached  the  Mongolian  millions,  the 
sable  myriads,  and  the  Caucasian  multitudes. 

THE  KEGENERATION  PHASE  OF  THE  KINGDOM. 

44.  "Again  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a 
treasure  which  has  been  hidden  in  the  field,  which  a 
man  having  found  concealed,  and  from  his  joy  goes  and 
sells  all  things  which  he  has  and  purchases  that  field.'^ 
The  field  is  the  church,  which  the  man  of  the  world  has 
been  accustomed  to  see  all  his  life,  apprehending  noth- 
ing of  very  especial  interest.  Eventually  light  breaks  in 
on  his  mind,  conviction  sweeping  like  a  cyclone  through 
his  soul,  waking  him  up  to  the  rousing  recognition  of 
something  in  the  church  of  infinite  value,  which  in  some 
mysterious  way  had  all  his  life  evaded  his  discovery,  con- 
sequently with  enthusiasm  he  sells  out  all  his  possessions 
— i.  e.,  turns  them  to  the  devil  and  the  world,  whither 
they  belong — goes  with  joyful  anticipation  and  pur- 
chases that  field ;  i.  e.,  he  takes  the  salvation  of  the  Lord 
for  his  portion,  and  is  perfectly  delighted  with  the 
church. 

THE  SANCTIFICATION  PHASE  OF  THE  KINGDOM. 

45,  46.  "Again  the  kingdom  of  the  heaven  is  like 
unto  a  mercantile  man  seeking  goodly  pearls,  who,  hav- 
ing found   one  pearl  of  great  price,  having   sold   alJ 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  121 

things  so  many  as  he  had,  and  purchased  it/'  Here  we 
see  this  good,  regenerated  church  member,  eventually 
run  on  a  holiness  book  or  paper,  or  meet  a  red-hot  holi- 
ness evangelist,  or  happen  in  his  travels  to  sp^nd  an 
hour  in  a  flaming  holiness  revival.  The  result  is  that 
he  catches  a  glimpse  of  a  grand  bonanza,  which  will 
make  him  a  millionaire  if  he  can  only  get  it.  There- 
fore, he  proceeds  at  once  to  pay  the  price,  sells  out  his 
own  soul,  mind  and  body,  wife,  children,  relatives  and 
friends,  pastor,  presiding  elder,  bishops,  church,  and 
everything  he  posseses,  or  ever  shall  possess  in  time  and 
eternity;  i.  e.,  puts  them  all  on  the  altar  for  this  world 
and  all  other  worlds.  Then  faith  begins  to  appropriate ; 
wonderful  things  happen;  Jesus  baptizes  him  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  fire ;  he  receives  the  blessing,  finding  it 
better  than  he  ever  dreamed,  so  that,  like  the  Queen  of 
Sheba  at  the  court  of  King  Solomon,  he  frankly  admits 
that  he  finds  everything  true  he  had  ever  heard  about  the 
wonderful  experience,  "and  the  half  had  not  been  told.'^ 

THE  EVANGELISTIC  PHASE  OF  THE  KINGDOM. 

47-50.  "Again  the  kingdom  of  the  heaven  is  like 
unto  a  net  which  has  been  cast  into  the  sea  and  gather- 
ing of  every  kind,  which,  when  it  may  be  filled,  drawing 
it  up  to  the  shore,they  gathered  the  good  into  baskets  and 
threw  the  bad  away.  So  it  will  be  in  the  end  of  the  age. 
the  angels  will  come  and  separate  the  wicked  from  the 
righteous,  and  cast  them  into  the  lake  of  fire,  and  there 
shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.''  This  parable 
sets  forth  in  vivid  realization  the  literal  occurrences  in 
the  normal  evangelistic  fields  in  all  ages  and  nations. 


122  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

We  preach  tlie  living  Word  and  cast  the  gospel  net  with 
every  conceivable  diversity  of  results.  Sometimes  we 
catch  a  good  lot  of  fish;  at  other  times  mostly  frogs, 
toads,  lizards,  turtles,  snakes,  and  vast  quantities  of  tad- 
poles, wdth  a  fish  here  and  there,  floundering  amid  the 
heterogeneous  mass.  We  never  do  catch  many  fish,  with- 
out finding  a  large  per  cent,  of  filthy  reptiles  and  worth- 
less, doleful  creatures.  Then  what  sihall  we  do?  Quit 
fishing?  God  forbid.  Let  us  push  on,  ever  indefatiga- 
ble, though  you  drag  out  the  same  old  green-eyed  toad 
a  dozen  times.  ^'He  said  unto  them,  therefore  every  scribe 
having  been  discipled  is  like  unto  a  man  who  is  a  land- 
lord, who  taketh  out  from  this  treasure  things  old  and 
new."  Instructed  "into  the  kingdom"  (E.  V.)  is  incor- 
rect and  misleading,  as  if  a  person  could  enter  the  king- 
dom by  instruction,  which  is  impossible.  There  is  but 
one  way  to  enter  the  kingdom,  and  that  is  by  becoming 
a  disciple,  which  is  impossible  save  by  the  intervention 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  His  regenerating  power.  When 
the  scribe;  i.  e.,  the  preacher,  or  any  other  person,  is 
thus  discipled  into  the  kingdom,  he  is  always  bringing 
out  of  his  treasure  things  both  new  and  old.  His  treas- 
ure consists  in  his  experience  and  the  precious  Word  of 
God,  which  fills  his  heart.  The  former  is  always  new. 
fresh  and  bright,  though  you  have  told  it  a  thousand 
times.  The  latter  is  always  old.  Solomon  says,  "There 
is  nothing  new  under  the  snn."  It  is  all  old  as  the 
Bible;  i.  e.,  old  as  God.  Therefore,  everything  new  in 
religion  is  false. 

When  the  Lord  winds  up  this  wonderful  sermon  on 
the  kingdom,  He  proceeds  to  cross  the  sea,  sailing  from 
the  west  coast  to  the  east.     While  traveling  with  His 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  123 

disciples  down  to  the  ship  a  man  certifies  to  Him  his 
determination  to  follow  Him  wheresoever  He  goes,  to 
whom  Jesus  responds,  "The  foxes  have  holes  and  the 
birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not 
where  to  lay  His  head."  As  Capernaum  was  the  cen- 
ter of  His  evangelistic  peregrinations,  it  is  believed  that 
He  made  the  house  of  Peter  His  home  when  there.  The 
fact  is  clear  that  He  often  slept  on  the  ground  beneath 
the  twinkling  stars.  During  the  same  walk,  He  said  to 
another  man,  who  asked  His  permission  to  go  and  bury 
his  father,  "Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead,  and  thou  hav- 
ing come  away,  preaeh  the  kingdom  of  God";  i.  e,,  let 
the  spiritually  dead  neighbors,  who  are  not  competent  to 
preach  the  gospel,  bury  your  father,  but  you,  having  left 
them  all  behind,  preach  the  kingdom  of  God.  Mean- 
while, to  another,  who  asked  permission  to  go  and  bid 
farewell  to  his  homef oiks.  He  forbade,  saying :  "No  one 
putting  his  hand  to  the  plow  and  looking  back  is  worthy 
unto  the  kingdom  of  God."  In  that  country  the  plow 
has  but  one  hand.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  you  can 
not  plow  with  it  unless  you  keep  your  eye  on  it,  illus- 
trating the  fact  that  if  you  do  not  keep  your  eye  on 
Jesus,  you  camaot  be  His  follower.    Luke  9 : 5 7-62. 

JESUS   STILLS  THE  TEMPEST. 

Mark  4:36-39.  Having  embarked  upon  the  sea,  very 
soon  a  mighty  tempest  sweeps  down  from  the  moun- 
tain, rolls  up  the  billows,  dashes  them  in  wild  commo- 
tion hither  and  thither,  lolling  the  waves  into  the  ship 
till  it  is  already  sinking.  Matthew  says  that  the  ship 
was  covered  by  the  waves ;  i.  e.,  submerged.    Luke  saya 


124  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

they  were  being  filled  up  and  in  danger.  They  all  say 
that  it  was  a  great  storm.  Meanwhile  the  sky  is  black 
with  the  roaring  thunder-clouds,  mountain  waves  rolling 
over  the  ship,  till  it  seems  they  must  surely  go  down  to 
the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Lo,  Jesus  is  enjoying  a  refresh- 
ing nap  in  the  stern  of  the  ship.  They  awaken  Him 
and  say  to  Him,  "Teacher,  is  there  not  a  care  to  Thee  be- 
cause we  are  perishing  ?"  Arising,  He  rebuked  the  wind 
and  said  to  the  sea,  Be  quiet,  be  calm.  The  wind  ceased 
and  there  was  a  great  calm,  and  He  said  to  them,  "Why 
are  you  so  cowardly?  How  have  you  not  faith?  And 
they  feared  with  great  fear  and  continued  to  say  to  one 
another,  Who  is  He,  because  both  the  wind  and  the  sea 
obey  Him?''  N.  B. — He  had  not  yet  declared  His 
Christhood.  If  He  had,  they  would  have  crowned  Him 
King  of  the  Jews  and  the  Eomans  would  have  killed 
Him.  Thus  far  they  were  in  unutterable  bewilderment 
as  to  who  He  was.  Elijah  and  Elisha  had  wrought 
many  miracles  on  the  very  ground  over  which  they  were 
walking ;  the  city  of  Nain,  where  He  raised  the  widow's 
son  from  the  dead,  stands  on  the  north-west  slope  of  Mt. 
Eamothgilead,  and  Schunem,  on  the  south-east  slope  of 
the  same  mountain,  where  Elijah  raised  the  son  of  the 
Schunemitish  woman  from  the  dead.  I  visited  both 
cities  the  same  day.  Now  their  faith  is  awfully  put 
to  the  test,  whether  to  simply  relegate  Him  among  the 
prophets,  or  to  conclude  that  He  is  really  the  Christ. 
The  fact  of  the  indissoluble  identity  of  the  Christhood 
with  the  King  of  the  Jews  was  constantly  in  their  way. 
as  they,  like  so  many  nowadays,  fail  to  "rightly  divide 
the  word  of  truth,"  mixing  up  the  prophecies  relative  to 
file  second  and  glorious  coming  to  be  crowned  King  of 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  125 

Israel,  sit  down  upon  the  throne  of  David  and  reign  for- 
ever; thus  confusing  them  with  those  appertaining  to 
His  first  advent. 

This  miracle,  however,  makes  a  deep  and  profound 
impression  on  them,  when  with  their  mortal  eyes  and 
ears  they  see  and  hear  Him  command  the  raging  storm 
and  the  roaring  sea  to  be  calm,  and  they  immediately 
obey  His  mandate,  leaving  not  so  much  as  a  zephyr  to 
fan  their  brows. 

HE    HEALS   THE   BLOODY    HEMORRHAGE. 

Mark  5  :22-34.  While  on  His  way  to  the  house  of 
Jairus  in  Capernaum,  responsive  to  his  call  to  heal  his 
daughter  from  the  dead,  amid  the  enthusiastic  throng. 
who  are  crowding  each  other  out  of  all  room,  actually 
treading  on  Him,  a  certain  woman,  having  suffered 
twelve  years  from  a  bloody  hemorrhage  and  wasted  her 
entire  earthly  fortune  on  physicians  in  the  vain  hope  of 
recovery,  receiving  no  benefit,  but  growing  worse,  man- 
ages to  press  through  tne  crowd  and  touch  the  rear  of 
His  garment.  That  very  moment  the  blood  ceased  to 
issue  from  her  body,  and  she  received  the  happy  con- 
sciousness of  her  healing.  Jesus  making  inquiry  who 
touched  Him,  His  disciples  were  disposed  to  explain  it 
as  incidental  to  the  pressure  of  the  multitude,  some  one 
inadvertently  touched  Him.  Eef using  to  accept  the  solu- 
tion when  certifying  that  power  went  out  of  Him,  the 
embarrassed  woman  came  trembling  and  fell  before  Him 
confessing  the  miraculous  healing  of  which  she  had  be- 
come the  happy  recipient,  to  whom  Jesus  affirmed, 
"Daughter,  be  of  good  comfort,  thy  faith  hath  sai-cd 


126  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

thee/^  This  miracle  and  affirmation  of  our  Lord  is  infin- 
itely consolitory  to  suffering  humanity,  assuring  us  all 
that  our  wonderful  Savior  really  heals  the  body  accord- 
ing to  our  faith;  i.  e.,  when  you  have  faith  in  Jesus  to 
heal  you.  He  actually  does,  the  true  attitude,  as  Wesley 
says,  having  submitted  the  case  to  Him,  to  believe  that 
He  doeth  it.  While  you  are  thus  believing  He  honors 
your  faith  and  does  heal  you. 

HESURRECTION  OF  JAIRUS'  DAUGHTER. 

Mark  5:38-43.  Amid  the  joyous  rapture  over  the 
healing  of  the  woman,  a  messenger  arrives  from  Jairus, 
saying  to  Him,  Trouble  not  the  Teacher,  because  my 
daughter  is  dead.  Jesus  hearing,  responded  to  him, 
Baying,  "Fear  not;  only  believe  and  she  shall  be  saved." 
Oh,  what  floods  of  consolation  have  been  rolling  over 
this  world  in  all  ages  from  these  wonderful  words! 
N-ow  He  comes  to  the  house  of  the  chief  ruler  of  the 
synagogue,  suffering  none  but  Peter,  James  and  John, 
who  seem  to  have  enjoyed  deeper  insight  into  spiritual 
things,  to  enter  with  Him,  along  with  the  father  and 
mother  of  the  daughter.  The  Jews  were  very  demonstra/- 
tive  in  their  mourning  for  the  dead,  perpetuating  it 
seven  days.  As  this  was  the  daughter  of  the  leader  of 
the  synagogue,  they  were  disposed  to  honor  the  family 
with  a  great  mourning,  having  already  entered  upon 
their  weeping  and  wailing  with  their  musical  instru- 
ments co-operating  with  solemn  lays.  Jesus  entering, 
says  to  them,  "Why  do  you  weep  and  mourn,  the  child 
is  not  dead,  but  sleeping."  They  hooted  at  Him,  and 
putting  them  all  out,  He  takes  the  father  and  mother 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  127 

aad  comes  in  where  she  is  lying.  Taking  the  hand  of 
the  little  child,  He  says,  Talitha  cumi,  which  is,  inter- 
preted, Damsel,  I  say  unto  thee  arise.  Luke  says  her 
spirit  returned  and  she  arose  immediately,  illustrating 
the  fact  that  she  was  really  dead  and  her  spirit  had  gone 
away  from  her  body,  refuting  the  modern  heresy  of  the 
eoul  sleeping  with  the  body  till  the  resurrection.  Jesus 
said,  "She  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth."  That  is  in  har- 
mony with  tlie  uniform  teaching  of  the  iSTew  Testament, 
which  recognizes  the  immortality  of  the  body,  as  well  as 
the  soul.  Therefore,  the  death  of  the  body  is  only  sleep 
awaiting  ithe  resurrection  trumpet. 

Here  in  Capernaum,  w^hile  the  Lord  is  passing 
along,  he  sees  Matthew  sitting  in  his  money  office,  for 
he  was  a  collector  of  the  Eoman  revenue.  He  bids  him 
"leave  all  and  follow  Me.'^  He  responds  promptly,  but 
makes  a  great  feast  for  his  unsaved  companions,  invit- 
ing Jesus  and  His  disciples  to  attend,  in  order  to  bring 
his  guests  under  the  influence  of  his  great  Teacher. 
During  the  festival,  Jesus  preaches  a  beautiful  and  pow- 
erful sermon,  in  which  He  elucidates  the  kingdom  of 
God  under  the  imagery  of  the  old  garment  and  the  new 
cloth,  and  the  old  bottle  and  the  new  wine,  thus  beau- 
tifully elucidating  the  transcendent  importance  that  we 
all  go  out  of  the  patching  business,  east  away  the  old, 
ragged,  soiled  garments  of  dead  formality,  and  put  on 
the  brand-new,  snowy  w^hite  robe  of  Christ's  righteous- 
ness, destined  to  brighten  forever  the  admiration  of  an- 
gels and  archangels.  Also  to  quit  fooling  with  the  old 
bottles  and  fermented  wine,  but  to  gt  a  new  bottle ;  i.  e., 
a  new  heart  and  get  it  filled  up  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  is  the  new  wine  of  the  kingdom.     We  receive  the 


128  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

ri£w  bottle  in  regeneration^  and  the  mew  wine  is  sancti- 
fication.  The  reason  why  th«e  dead  churches  are  so  much 
opposed  to  sanotification,  is  because  they  are  afraid  it 
will  tear  up  their  thread'-bare  garments  of  self -righteous- 
ness, and  the  new  wine  will  burst  up  the  old  bottles 
and  ruin  their  religion,  which  they  have  had  so  long, 
actually  idolize  it. 

Luke  5  :36-39.  "No  one  drinking  the  old  wine  im- 
mediately wishes  the  new,  for  he  says  the  old  is  better." 
This  verse  is  signally  verified  in  universal  evangeliza- 
tion ;  e.  g.,  this  is  dJie  great  difficulty  among  the  heath- 
ens ;  while  we  see  and  commend  the  virtues  of  Christian- 
ity, they  still  say  that  their  old  religion  suits  them  bet- 
ter. The  same  is  true  of  Romanism,  Mohammedanism, 
and  the  dead  Protestant  churches.  Despite  all  the  beau- 
ties and  graces  tliey  see  in  holiness,  yet  they  say  the  re- 
ligion of  thir  fathers  "is  better."  xsT.  B. — It  is  not  Je- 
sus who  says  the  old  is  better;  but  that  dead  professor, 
who  has  to  get  light  and  conviction  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
before  he  mil  'desire  holiness  ^and  seek  after  it. 

"Here  at  Capernaum  two  blind  men  followed  Him, 
crying  out  and  saying,  Have  mercy  on  us,  thou  Son  of 
David,  to  whom  He  responds.  Do  you  believe  that  I  am 
able  to  do  this?  They  say  to  Him,  Yea,  Lord.  Then 
He  touched  their  eyes,  saying,  Be  it  done  unto  you  ac- 
cording to  your  faith.  And  their  eyes  were  opened. 
And  Jesus  charged  them,  saying,  See  that  no  one  know 
it.  But  having  gone  out  tliey  publish  Him  in  all  that 
country."  Jesus  wrought  this  great  miracle  in  the  house 
( Peter's) ,  charging  them  not  to  tell  it,  because  the  peo- 
ple were  ready  at  any  moment  to  rise  up  and  crowui  Him 
King,  in  which  case  the  Romans  would  have  killed  Him 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  129 

for  high  treason  against  Caesar.  They  now  bring  Him  a 
demonized  dummy,  the  demon  having  so  wrought  on  him 
as  to  take  away  his  power  of  speech.  When  the  eject- 
ment of  the  demon  was  clearly  demonstrated  by  the 
ready  utterances  of  the  man,  the  Pharisees  standing 
around  resumed  their  old  hobby,  certifying  that  He  cast 
out  demons  throug'h  the  prince  of  the  demons.  As  we 
have  clearly  elucidated  in  Matt.  12,  this  is  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  shall  never  be  forgiven; 
i.  e.,  imputing  the  miracles  which  Jesus  wrought  through 
Him,  to  the  devil.  That  sin  ruined  the  Jewish  priest- 
hood, by  leading  them  into  devil-worship.  We  live  amid 
the  sad  re-perpetration  of  the  same  awful  unpardonable 
sin,  committed  now^,  as  then,  by  imputing  the  works  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  devil.  N".  B. — This  sin  of  devil- 
worship  is  in  its  very  nature  unpardonable,  because  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  the  executor  of  the  Trinity.  By  Him  the 
Father  illuminates  and  convicts.  Through  Him  the  Son 
regenerates,  sanctifies,  heals  and  glorifies.  Matt.  9: 
27-34.  Jesus  again  rejected  at  Nazareth.  Mark  6  :l-6. 
Therefore  you  see  that  when  we  are  driven  out  of  the 
church  for  preaching  holiness,  we  ought  to  give  them 
time  to  reflect,  and  then  go  back,  as  Jesus  did,  after  an 
absence  of  nearly  two  years;  as  we  know  not  but  they 
may  have  received  light  and  repented.  So  give  them 
another  chance.  Again,  they  simply  refer  to  His  na- 
tivity among  them,  and  mention  His  mother,  His  broth- 
ers, James,  Joses,  Judas  and  Simon,  and  His  sisters  liv- 
ing in  their  midst,  all  evidently  the  younger  children 
that  Mary  had,  and  proceeded  to  reject  Him  as  for- 
merly, thus  evoking  His  repetition  of  the  proverb,  "A 
prophet  is  not  without  honor,  save  in  his  own  country 


130  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

among  his  relatives  and  in  his  own  house."  This  should 
be  an  admonition  to  all  His  followers  who  would  be  effi- 
cient in  the  great  work  of  saving  souls,  to  bid  adieu  to 
home  and  relatives,  cast  your  lot  among  strangers,  and 
there  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ. 

THE   TWELVE   COMMISSIONED   AND   SENT   OUT. 

Matt.  9:35;  10:1-42.  We  should  not  forget 
to  constantly  emulate  the  example  of  Jesus,  in 
His  untiring  industry,  toiling  night  and  day  to 
save  a  lost  world.  The  three  years  of  His 
ministry  were  so  exceedingly  crowded  with  labor, 
teaching  His  disciples,  and  especially  the  twelve 
on  whom  devolved  the  arduous  responsibilities  of  es- 
tablishing the  gospel  church  and  promulgating  it 
throughout  the  whole  world  after  His  departure;  be- 
sides His  personal  presence  and  ministry  in  all  the  im- 
portant towns  and  cities  throughout  the  land  of  thei  He- 
brews; that  He  commissioned  the  twelve  to  leave  Him 
in  the  cities  encircling  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  go  away 
two  by  two,  thus  constituting  six  evangelistic  bands; 
enter  every  town  within  the  coasts  of  Israel,  preach  the 
gospel  and  prepare  the  people  for  His  coming.  Verse  36 
gives  the  reason  why  He  sent  out  the  apostles.  "And 
seeing  the  multitudes.  He  was  moved  with  compassion  in 
their  behalf,  because  they  were  faint  and  deserted  as 
sheep  having  no  shepher'd."  N.  B. — These  people  all 
had  their  regular  synagogue  wx>rship,  conducted  by  their 
own  pastors.  Why  are  they  described  as  feeble,  sickly 
and  at  the  point  of  death,  like  sheep  oif  in  the  desert 
waste,  surrounded  by  the  burning  sands,  bewildered  and 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  131 

lo&t,  without  food  and  water,  abandoned  by  their  shep- 
herds and  ready  to  die?  So  our  Savior  simply  meant 
that  the  people  had  no  efficient  spiritual  guides.  V.  37. 
"Then  He  says  to  His  disciples,  the  harvest  indeed  is 
great,  but  the  laborers  are  few;  therefore  pray  ye  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  that  He  may  send  forth  laborers 
into  His  harvest."  Oh,  how  vehement  is  the  cry  for  la- 
borers this  day!  Millions  on  all  sides,  at  home  and 
abroad,  are  going  into  hell  at  race-horse  speed.  As  in 
the  days  of  Christ,  the  Jews  were  a  mighty  people,  ex- 
ceedingly prosperous  in  every  prospect,  their  religion 
flourishing  at  the  very  acme,"  a  synagogue  in  every  vil- 
lage, and  Jerusalem  450,  all  other  cities  being  well  sup- 
plied; the  effect  of  their  Babylonial  captivity  to  com- 
pletely cure  their  fatal  old  propensity  for  the  heathen  re- 
ligions, so  they  no  more  went  off  into  idolatry.  Yet  be- 
cause their  religion  had  degenerated  into  dead-  formali- 
ty and  hollow  hypocrisy,  it  was,  if  possible,  more  abom- 
inable in  the  sight  of  God  than  open  idolatry.  Hence 
the  Savior  pronounces  those  people,  who  are  all  mem- 
bers of  the  Jewish  church  and  well  supplied  with  learned 
pastors,  "sheep  without  a  shepherd'" ;  not  only  shepherd- 
less,  but  "faint  and  deserted."  We  are  living  in  an  age 
in  which  this  sad  history  is  vividly  and  alarmingly  re- 
peated, a  country  abounding  in  churches,  an  ample  sup- 
ply of  learned  preachers,  and  yet  the  people  perishing 
by  millions  for  the  bread  of  life ;  not  a  tithe  of  the  pop- 
ular churches  saved. 

7.  "Going  forth,  preach,  saying  that  the  kingdom 
of  the  heavens  has  come  nigh  unto  you."  That  king- 
dom consists  of  righteousness,  peace  and  Joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.    Eom.  14:16.    Righteousness  here  is  used  in  its 


132  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

broad  sense,  including  holiness.  "Heal  the  sick,  raise 
the  dead,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast  out  demons ;  freely  you 
received,  freely  give/'  You  see  in  the  catalogue  of  the 
preacher's  work,  healing  the  sick  stands  at  the  front. 
Therefore  when  you  arrive,  first  inquire  about  the  sick 
and  give  them  immediate  attention,  as  in  their  case  you 
have  a  double  opportunity  of  doing  good,  both  to  the 
soul  and  body.  You  see  we  are  also  commanded  to  "raisa 
the  dead,"  which  of  course  has  a  spiritual  signification; 
yet  it  is  not  to  be  restricted  to  it.  Let  us  stick  to  the 
word.  I  was  on  the  spot  where  Elisha  raised  the  young 
man  at  Schunem,  and  several  times  at  Joppa,  where 
Peter  raised  Dorcas.  I  saw  her  tomb.  I  was  near  the 
place  where  Elijah  raised  the  widow's  son,  and  passed 
by  Troas,  where  Paul  raised  Eutychus.  Mary  Etta  Da- 
vis, of  Elmira,  New  York,  revived  after  an  absence  of 
nine  days  from  her  body,  enjoying  a  visit  to  heaven,  as 
she  testified  and  wrote  in  a  book  after  her  return.  An 
English  nobleman,  well  knowni  as  the  author  of  a  book 
entitled  "Letters  from  Hell,"  revived  after  he  was  dead 
several  days,  having  visited  the  regions  of  woe.  (Par- 
don here  a  momentary  allusion  to  myself.)  I  was  as- 
phyxiated with  gas  in  Fresno,  Cal.,  while  sleeping  in 
my  room  the  night  of  January  13,  the  present  year 
(1901),  and  found  dead,  all  breathing  having  ceased. 
Fortunately  I  was  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  Dr.  Meux. 
an  eminent  Christian  physician,  who,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  resorting  to  artificial  methods,  restored  respira- 
tion, my  consciousness  returning  in  about  twenty  hours. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  life  is  actually  restored  after  at 
least  suspended  animation,  not  very  infrequently,  even 
in  our  day.     Let  us  not  be  incredulous  to  the  Word  of 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  133 

the  Lord.  In  the  Old  World  lepers  abound  to  this  day. 
especially  in  the  Bible  lands  of  Asia  and  Africa.  Jesus 
cleansed  them,  and  commissioned  His  apostles  to  do  the 
same.  We  are  their  successors  in  labor.  "Cast  out  de- 
mons.'^ This  is  the  constant  and  normal  work  of  saving 
sinners  and  saving  souls;  all  the  citizens  of  Satan^s 
kingdom  being  more  or  less  demonized.  Hence  our  nor- 
mal evangelistic  work  in  saving  sinners  is  the  ejectment 
of  saving  sinners,  whereas  our  normal  mission  in  the 
sanctification  of  believers  is  comprehended  in  the  cleans- 
ing of  the  lepers,  leprosy  being  everywhere  the  symbol  of 
inbred  sin,  which  is  not  revolved  by  pardon,  but  cleans- 
ing. 

"Take  neither  gold  nor  silver  nor  copper  in  your  gir- 
dles nor  valise,  nor  two  coats  nor  sandals  nor  staff.^' 
You  see  here  the  I^ord  leaves  us  without  excuse.  We 
are  not  to  wait  to  get  money  to  defray  expenses,  nor  a 
change  of  raiment,  nor  sandals,  but  go  at  once,  barefoot, 
without  a  second  suit,  without  any  money,  trusting  the 
Lord  to  feed  us  like  the  birds,  and  clothe  us  like  the 
lilies;  like  Paul  feeling  free  to  take  a  job  of  tent-mak- 
ing to  defray  current  expenses  if  the  Lord  so  leads.  We 
certainly  have  all  excuses  laid  in  the  shade  by  our  infal- 
lible Preceptor.  The  gospel  is  a  practical  truth  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  good  common  sense,  providing  both 
for  our  going  and  leaving,  in  case  that  we  are  not  re- 
ceived and  appreciated,  knocking  off  the  dust  from  our 
feet  for  a  testimony  against  them,  the  Lord  assuring  us 
that  it  will  be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom  and  Gromorrah 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  that  city.  He  com- 
mands us  to  be  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves'. 
The  word  translated  harmless  is  alceroirei,  from  alcera' 


134  Life  of  Jesaa  and  ills  Apostles. 

numi,  which  is  the  strongest  compound  Greek  word  for 
unmixed,  forcefully  setting  forth  tlie  purity  of  the  heart 
and  life,  which  should  always  characterize  the  Lord's 
embassadors.  He  assures  us  tlie  effect  of  tlie  gospel  will 
be  to  array  earth  and  hell  against  us,  produce  all  sorts 
of  division,  provoke  antagonism  and  conflict,  thus  ar- 
raying the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  against  us. 

At  this  point  in  our  Savior's  ministry  our  attenton  is 
called  to  the  court  of  King  Herod,  who  about  that  time 
had  a  grand  convocation  of  the  mighty  men  assembled 
from  all  parts  of  his  kingdom  on  either  side  of  the  Jor- 
dan to  celebrate  his  birthday.  Amid  the  festivities  and 
rejoicings  of  that  grand  ovation,  Salome,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Herodias,  so  entertained  and  delighted  with 
the  pantomimic  dance,  that  the  king,  in  his  hilarious  en- 
thusiasm, said  to  the  damsel,  "Ask  what  you  will  of  me. 
and  I  will  give  it  unto  thee,  even  the  half  of  my  king- 
dom." The  girl  retreated  away,  consulted  her  mother, 
asked  her  what  request  she  would  make  of  the  king. 
Herodias  hated  John  with  rattle-snake  venom,  because 
he  had  exposed  her  unlawful  marriage  with  Herod.  Al- 
ready has  John  been  shut  up  in  prison  twenty  months, 
to  keep  her  from  killing  him,  as  the  king  was  powerfully 
wrought  upon  by  the  lightning  truth  dispensed  by  the 
fearless  Baptist,  so  that  as  a  loyal  member  of  the  Jew- 
ish church,  Mark  says  he  was  accustomed  to  do  many 
things;  i.  e.,  many  good  things  which  John  command- 
ed ;  and  he  continued  to  hear  him  gladly.  Millions  of 
church  members  this  day  love  to  hear  the  truth  boldly 
and  f(  rcibly  preached,  even  though  it  tears  them  all  to 
pieces.  Meanwhile,  they  make  much  reformation, 
straighten  up,  and  do  better,  resolving,  at  a  convenient 


Jesus  Preaching  in  GaliU'e.  135 

season,  to  meet  the  full  demands  of  the  divine  law,  make 
all  wrongs  right,  go  to  the  bottom  and  settle  matters  for 
eternity.  But  in  an  unguarded  hour,  Satan  makes  a 
run  on  them  which  ruins  them  for  time  aiid  eternity. 
This  was  the  case  with  Herod  Antipas.  Being  moved 
powerfully  by  John's  preaching,  making  much  reforma- 
tion, resolving  to  get  all  right  with  God ;  even  keeping 
the  preacher  safe  within  the  prison  wall  to  keep  the  en- 
raged queen  from  slaying  him  by  a  hired  assassin.  Even- 
tually, amid  his  hilarity,  he  is  caught  in  the  trap  of  Sa- 
tan. When  the  hoiden  damsel  returns  and  demands 
the  head  of  John  the  Baptist  in  a  charger,  to  the  king 
it  is  like  a  clap  of  thunder  from  a  cloudless  sky.  His 
royal  pride  and  the  time^honored  customs  of  Oriental 
despots  would  not  admit  of  a  refusal  at  that  stage  of 
the  transaction.  He  would  have  lost  the  favor  of  all 
his  magnates,  and  doubtless  provoked  a  revolt  on  the 
spot,  which  would  have  cost  him  his  head.  Therefore, 
in  unutterable  grief,  he  acquiesces  in  the  bloody  tragedy 
which  ruined  him  for  time  and  eternity.  Soon  after- 
ward he  was  signally  defeated  in  battle  by  Aretas,  his 
father-in-law,  the  King  of  Arabia,  who  fought  against 
him  for  the  mal-treatment  of  his  daughter,  in  discard- 
ing her  from  the  queenship  in  order  to  get  married  to 
Herodias.  This  was  but  the  l:»eginning  of  his  trouble, 
which  resulted  in  exile  and  a  miserable  death.  Mark 
6 :14-29. 


FEEDIXG    THE    MULTITUDES. 

The    movements   of    the    six    apostolic    evangelistic 
bands  through  the  entire  country  were  exceedingly  expe- 


136  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

ditious,  occnpying,  I  trow,  not  more  than  a  month, 
till  they  return  to  the  Lord,  still  preaching  on  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  and  report  all  things  which  they  did  and 
taught.  Terse  31.  ''Then  He  said  to  them.  Come  ye 
hither  unto  a  desert  place  and  rest  a  little  while."  For 
many  were  coming  and  going,  and  they  had  not  leisure 
to  eat.  Two  y-ears  of  the  Lord's  ministry  have  already 
passed  away.  His  fame  has  moved  with  the  tread  of  a 
giant  throughout  all  Judea,  Galilee,  Perea,  S}Tia,  Phoe- 
nicia and  the  Great  East,  arousing  the  old,  the  young, 
the  rich,  the  poor,  princes  and  people,  till  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  Him  to  hide,  unless  He  draws  on  His  divinity. 
Luke  says  the  place  to  which  they  went  wa«  a  desert 
of  the  city  called  Bethsaida ;  i.  e.,  an  uninhabited  region 
within  the  territory  identified  with  that  cit}'.  Bethsiaida 
stood  on  the  north-east  coast  of  the  sea,  where  a  great 
spring  flows  out  from  the  base  of  the  Mount  of  Beati- 
tudes, on  which  theLord'delivered  that  celebrated  sermon. 
On  our  arrival  we  first  dismounted  and  lunched  at  that 
spring.  Though  the  plan  was  to  take  a  rest  after  their 
hard  toil,  running  all  over  the  country  and  preaching  in 
every  city  and  important  town,  thus  preparing  them  for 
the  coming  of  Jesus.  In  this  they  were  utterly  disap- 
pointed, because  the  eyes  of  all  were  on  them,  observing 
the  steerage  of  the  ship,  and  whither  she  was  bound. 
The  Sea  of  Galilee  had  sevent\'-five  miles  of  coast,  every- 
where crowded  with  cities.  A  ship  on  this  sea  is  visible 
from  the  entire  coast,  and  far  up  into  the  interior,  be- 
cause, being  seven  hundred  feet  l^elow  the  Mediterra- 
nean, it  is  surrounded  by  highlands.  Therefore  they 
come  in  teeming  thousands  in  all  directions,  trending 
away  in  the  track  of  Jesus,  till  the  desert  (which  simply 


JeBus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  137 

tbere  means  an  uninhaljited  region  of  country)  was 
thronged  with  at  least  ten  thousand  people,  as  Matthew 
says  there  were  five  thousand  besides  women  and  chil- 
dren. 

John  6  :5.  *Then  Jesus  lifting  up  His  eyes  and  see- 
ing that  a  great  multitude  is  coming  to  Him,  says  to 
Philip,  Whence  shall  we  buy  bread  that  these  may  eat  ? 
He  spoke  this  testing  him,  for  He  knew  what  He  was 
about  to  do.  Philip  responded  to  Him,  Two  hundred  de- 
naria  are  not  sufficient  for  them  (the  denarion  was  fif- 
teen cents,  200  equaling  $30,  which  was  perhaps  about 
all  the  money  they  had  on  hand)  in  order  that  each  may 
receive  some  small  quantity.  One  of  His  disciples,  An- 
drew, the  brother  of  Simon  Peter,  says.  There  is  one  lad 
here  ^^o  bas  five  barley  loaves  and  two  fishes;  but  what 
are  these  among  so  many?  And  Jesus  said.  Make  the 
people  sit  down ;  for  there  was  much  grass  in  the  place 
(this  was  April,  when  the  grass  is  green  and  flourishing 
in  that  <x)untry).  And  He  took  the  loaves,  and  giving 
thanks,  gave  them  to  His  disciples,  and  the  disciples  to 
those  sitting  down;  likewise  also  of  the  fishes  so  much 
as  they  wished.  When  they  were  filled  He  said  to  His 
disciples,  Gather  up  the  remaining  fragments,  in  order 
that  nothing  may  be  lost.  Then  they  gathered  and  filled 
the  twelve  baskets  of  the  fragments  of  barley  loaves 
which  rem'ained  of  those  having  eaten.  *  *  *  Then  the 
people  seeing  the  miracle  which  Jesus  did,  continued 
to  say,  Surely  this  is  the  prophet  coming  into  the  world." 
Moses  had  said  to  them,  "A  prophet  will  be  the  Lord  our 
God  raised  up  from  your  brethren  like  unto  me.  Him 
will  you  hear  unto  all  things,  so  many  as  He  may  say 
unto  you"  (Deut.  18  :15).    Moses  was  a  mediator;  there- 


138  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

fore  this  prophet  was  a  mediator;    i.  e.,  the  Kedeemer 
of  Israel;,  as  they  till  understood.     , 

Matt.  14 :22.    Jesus  immediately  compelled  His  dis- 
ciples to  embark  in  a  ship  and  go  before  Him  until  He 
can  send  avr^y  the  multitudes.     And  having  dismissed 
the  multitudes,  He  went  up  into  the  mountain  to  pray. 
John  6  :15.     "Jesus  knowing  that  they  were  about  to 
come  and  take  Him  in  ord-er  that  they  may  make  Him 
King,  departed  again  into  the  mountain  Himself  alone." 
This  miracle,  which  ao  grandly  elucidates  normal  gos- 
pel work  (e.  g.,  we  begin  with  a  very  small  amount  of  re- 
ligion, have  a  big  revival,  get  many  saved)  and  sanctified 
and  filled,  and  at  th-e  winding  up  we  have  no  trouble  to 
gather  up  religion  enough  to  start  forty  more  revivals), 
so  wonderfully  stirred  those  ten  thousand  people  that  an 
enthusiasm  broke  out  among  them,  sliouting  on  all  sides, 
"Why  shall  we  wait  another  hour.     The  thing  is  clear 
and  demonstrative;   this  Man  is  the  Christ  of  God,  the 
Shiloh  of  prophecy,  and  the  King  of  Israel;   come,  one 
and  all,  and  let  us  crown  Him  King.''    The  reason  why 
He  had  to  compel  His  own  disciples  to  embark  in  their 
ship  and  return  to  Gennesaret,  was  l>ecause  they  were  as 
eager  to  cro-mi  Him  King  as  any  of  the  multitude.    As 
this  was  right  on  the  eve  of  the  Passover  at  Jerusalem, 
and  those  people  were  going  directly  away  to  it.  their 
plan  was  to  take  possession  of  Him  and  carr}'  Him  with 
them  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  crowTi  Him  King.    When 
the  multitudes  saw  His  disciples  depart  and  embark  on 
their  ship  and  start  away  to  the  other  side  of  the  sea. 
whence  they  came,  this  bewildered  their  plan,  as  the 
disciples  were  in  the  lead  of  it.    Already  Jesus  has  ren- 
dered Himself  invisible  and  has  gone  away  alone  into  the 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  139 

mountain,  the  Adiole  multitude  being  utterly  bewildered, 
as  the\'  searched  diligentty  and  cannot  find  Him  among 
His  disciples,  and  are  thoroughly  convinced  that  He  does 
not  embark  with  them  on  the  ship  and  sail  away ;  there- 
fore, they  have  lost  Him,  and  just  have  no  idea  where 
he  is 

JESUS  MEETS  THEM  IN  THE  STORM. 

Xow,  while  Jesus  is  alone  in  the  mountain,  the  day  is 
fled  and  gone,  and  the  ship  is  gliding  over  the  sea,  but 
the  winds  are  contrary,  blowing  from  the  north-east  in 
a  terrible  sweeping  gale,  so  they  ^w^ar  themselves  out 
plying  the  oars,  and  progress  but  slowly.  The  night  is 
gliding  away;  it  is  already  three  o^clock  in  the  morning. 
Behold,  they  see  something  moving  amid  the  stormy 
billows,  which  dash  with  terrible  violence  on  all  sides. 
In  their  dismal  affright,  they  think  it  is  a  spectre  from 
the  eternal  world,  come  to  haunt  them  and  thus  augment 
their  troubles,  already  more  than  they  can  bear.  There- 
fore, in  their  affright,  they  cry  out  by  reason  of  fear. 
A  familiar  voice  is  heard  distinctly  amid  the  raging 
storm,  "Be  of  good  cheer,  I  am  He ;  fear  not.'' 

Peter's  adventure. 

Matt.  14 :28.  And  Peter,  responding,  said :  "Lord, 
if  thou  art  He,  command  me  to  come  to  Thee  on  the 
waters ;  He  said,  Come.  And  Peter,  having  come  down 
from  the  ship,  walked  about  over  the  waters  and  came 
to  Jesus.  Seeing  the  wind  stirred,  he  was  afraid,  an(5 
beginning  to  sink,  cried  out,  saying,  Liord,  save  me.  And 


140  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Jesus  immediately  reaching  out  His  hand  received  him 
and  says  to  him,  Oh,  ye  of  little  faith,  why  did  you 
doubt?  And  they  coming  into  the  ship,  the  wind 
ceased."  Peter  was  always  the  most  prominent  of  the 
twelve,  not  only  because  of  his  seniority,  but  because  of 
his  extraordinary  sprightliness  and  vivacity  of  tempera- 
ment, which  made  him  always  the  first  to  speak  and 
act;  his  comrades  recognizing  the  fact  and  spontane- 
ously acquiescing  in  his  recognized  prominence,  and 
waiting  on  him.  When  Jesus  enters  the  ship,  the  winds 
are  at  once  lulled,  and  by  vigorous  rowing,  soon  makes 
the  landing  on  the  coast  of  Gennesaret,  the  country  sur- 
rounding the  City  of  Capernaum.  Xot  only  are  the 
sailors  on  the  ship  thrilled  with  conviction,  but  they 
actually  fell  down  and  worshipped  Him,  saying,  "Truly, 
Thou  art  the  Son  of  God.''  Allien  they  land,  the  glad 
tidings  fly  on  the  wing  of  the  wind  throughout  the 
entire  country.  Therefore  the  people  pour  in  from  all 
directions,  bringing  their  sick  on  beds,  placing  them  in 
rows  throughout  the  streets,  so  that  they  may  only  touch 
the  hem  of  His  garment,  and  all  who  touched  Him  were 
healed. 

The  City  of  Tiberius  stands  on  the  western  coast  of 
the  sea.  It  is  one  of  the  many  ancient  cities  recently 
revived  by  the  returning  Jews,  who  are  rapidly  building 
it  up.  We  lodged  there  at  a  Jewish  hotel  during  my 
last  tour  in  that  land.  As  the  place  where  the  multi- 
tudes were  fed  is  not  far  from  that  city,  many  people 
came  into  it  and  sought  conveyance  across  to  Caper- 
naum, whither  His  disciples  had  gone.  Therefore  they 
filled  all  the  ships  they  could  command  at  Tiberius  and 
came  at  once  to  Capernaum,  hunting  Hinu 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  141 

SERMON  IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE  AT  CAPERNAUM. 

John  r>  :30-71.  On  arrival  at  Capernaum,  they  were 
astonished  to  find  Him  there  preaching  in  the  synagogue. 
Their  be\\'ilderment  resulted  from  the  fact  that  they 
knew  that  only  the  one  ship  had  sailed  with  His  disci- 
ples, and  He  was  not  in  it.  And  as  He  had  not  been 
at  Tiberius,  they  were  utterly  dumbfounded  to  find  Him 
on  the  other  side  of  the  sea,  with  no  possible  conveyance, 
as  they  did  not  know  that  He  had  walked  off  on  the 
waters  and  gotten  aboard  with  His  disciples.  This  ser- 
mon really  produces  a  notable  epoch  in  His  biography. 
During  the  two  years  of  His  ministry,  besides  the  twelve 
apostles,  hosts  of  people  have  followed  Him  in  the  at- 
titude of  disciples.  The  time  has  arrived  when,  in  His 
infallible  wisdom,  He  recognizes  the  importance  of  de- 
veloping proof,  going  down  into  profounder  depths  of 
spirituality  than  ever  before.  During  His  discourse,  radi- 
ating out  from  the  exegesis  of  the  manna  by  which  they 
were  miraculously  fed  forty  years  in  the  wilderness.  He 
proceeds  to  evolve  the  great  problem  of  soul  pabulum. 

53.  "Then  Jesus  said  unto  them.  Truly,  truly 
I  say  unto  you  unless  you  may  eat  of  the 
flesh,  of  the  Son  of  man  and  drink  of  His 
blood,  you  have  no  life  in  you.  He  that  eateth  my 
flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  hath  eternal  life,  and  I  will 
raise  hipi  up  in  the  last  day.  For  my  flesh  is  truly  food, 
and  my  blood  is  truly  drink.  He  that  eateth  my  flesh 
and  drinketh  my  blood,  abideth  in  me  and  me  in  him. 
The  living  Father  sent  me,  and  I  live  through  the  Father, 
Indeed  he  that  eateth  me  shall  also  live  through  me. 
This  is  the  bread  that  came  down  from  heaven.     Not 


142  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

as  your  fathers  ate  manna  and  are  dead ;  he  that  eateth 
this  bread  shall  live  forever/'  After  this  many  of  His 
disciples  went  back  and  no  longer  continued  to  walk  with 
Him.  Then  Jesus  said  to  the  twelve,  "Whither  do  you 
also  wish  to  go  back?"  Then  Simon  Peter  responded 
to  Him,  "Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life,  and  we  have  believed  and  have 
known  that  thou  art  the  Christ  the  Son  of  the  living 
God/'  The  grand  truths  of  entire  sanctification 
and  glorification  are  involved  in  tliis  discourse. 
The  drinking  of  the  blood  covers  the  ground  of 
complete  spiritual  purgation,  and  the  eating  of 
the  flesh,  glorifieation.  The  malady  of  sin  is  a 
blood  trouble,  every  corpuscle  being  tainted  by  it. 
Therefore  a  blood  remedy  is  absolutely  necessary.  This 
we  have  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  which  cleanseth  from  all 
sin.  In  the  spiritual  realm,  faith  is  the  organ  of  masti- 
cation and  deglutition ;  1.  e.,  we  drink  the  blood  by  faith, 
when  we  thus  receive  it  to  cleanse  us  from  all  sin.  Be- 
lieving is  receiving.  The  Bible  clearly  reveals  not  only 
the  entire  sanctification  of  the  soul  by  the  cleansing 
blood,  but  the  glorious  transfiguration  of  the  body,  elim- 
inating mortality  out  of  us,  and  investing  us  with  the 
similitude  of  His  glorious  body,  so  that  we  can  walk 
away  on  the  clouds  as  He  did  when  He  ascended.  We 
should  not  only  have  perpetual  faith  in  Christ  for  a  free 
justification  and  entire  sanctification,  but  as  Enoch  was 
translated  by  faith  (Heb.  11),  so  we  should  live  in  the 
constant  exercise  of  translation  faith,  ready  every  mo- 
ment, watching  and  waiting  for  our  Lord  to  appear,  ex- 
pecting "to  be  caught  up  to  meet  Him  in  the  air."  We 
read  here  that  the  people  said,  "This  is  a  hard  sermon, 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  1''' 

who  is  able  to  receive  it?"  A  similar  state  of  things 
doth  this  day  environ  us,  many  people  staggering  over 
the  deep  truths  of  sanctification  and  glorification.  Here 
we  are  informed  by  the  infallible  words,  that  many  of 
His  disciples  turn  back  and  walk  no  more  with  Him. 
Yea,  the  turning  back  was  so  great  that  it  looked  like 
they  would  all  go.  Finally  He  appeals  to  the  twelve 
and  asks  them  if  they  will  go,  too.  Peter  promptly  serves 
tliem  as  speaker,  responding,  "Lord,  to  whom  shall  we 
go?  For  thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life."  Peter 
was  characteristic  of  good,  solid  sense.  He  knew  there 
was  no  other  alternative  but  hell  and  the  devil.  Oh,  that 
the  multitudes  in  the  churches  throughout  Christendom 
to-day  would  only  heed  and  exemplify  the  solid  sense 
of  Peter !  We  would  not  have  wholesale  stumbling  over 
the  deep  things  of  God.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  we 
dare  not  dictate  to  God ;  we  must'  take  His  terms,  or 
abide  our  destiny  in  hell  with  the  devil.  A  modern  critic 
in  case  of  this  kind  would  say  that  the  preacher  made 
great  mistake  in  giving  too  strong  meat.  I  trow  no  one 
will  dare  to  say  that  Jesus  made  a  mistake  in  this  ser- 
mon, which  staggered  and  turned  back  the  big  end  of 
His  membership  in  the  gospel  church.  Good  Lord,  help 
us  all  to  be  true,  preach,  like  Thyself,  and  abide  the  con- 
sequences, if  all  the  people  go  back  on  us. 

The  Lord  has  now  completed  the  second  year  of  His 
ministry,  and  the  third  Passover  is  come  and  gone,  which 
you  see,  in  the  perusal  of  His  biography,  that  He  did 
not  attend,  obviously  from  the  fact  that  the  multitudes 
whom  He  miraculously  fed,  just  at  the  time  when  they 
had  assembled  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  and  attend  the 
Passover,  were  so  enthused  over  the  stupendous  miracle. 


144  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

that  they  were  in  the  very  act  of  taking  possession  of 
His  person  in  view  of  carrying  Him  with  them  to  Jeru- 
salem, that  they  might  crown  Him  king  during  the  fes- 
tival, consequently  rendering  Himself  invisible,  passing 
alone  into  the  mountain,  spending  the  night  in  prayer 
and  coming  to  His  disciples,  tossed  by  vehement  contrary 
minds,  embarking  at  3  o'clock  a.  m.,  after  His  peregrina- 
tion on  the  stormy  billows;  thus  having  evaded  tlie  eager 
throng  and  left  them  to  go  away  to  the  Passover  without 
Him,  He  spent  the  time  in  Galilee,  thus  evading  His 
own  royal  coronation  land  prolonging  His  life  another 
year,  thus  taking  time  and  opportunity  to  finish  the 
work,  which  he  came  on  the  earth  to  perform,  not  only 
laying  down  His  life  a  vicarious  sacrifice  for  a  guilty 
world  (which  required  but  little  time),  but  preaching 
to  the  multitudes  and  calling  out  the  twelve  apostles,  to 
whom  He  transmitted  the  great  work  of  universal  evan- 
gelization, devoting  three  whole  years  to  their  instruc- 
tion in  the  elements  of  divinity,  requisite  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  God's  kingdom  on  the  earth,  which  then  and 
there  superseded  the  dispensation  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets.  At  this  crisis;  i.  e.,  the  third  Passover,  the 
conviction  of  His  Christhood  was  too  strong  to  admit  of 
His'  presence  at  the  festival  without  incurring  serious 
liability  on  the  part  of  the  multitudes  already  even  inv 
petuous  to  seize  and  crown  Him  king;  thus  putting  an 
end  to  His  ministry,  as  the  Eomans  would  certainly  in 
that  case  execute  Him  under  the  charge  of  high  treason. 

BAPTISM  SIMPLY  A  WASHING. 

Mark  7  :1-17.    In  the  allusion  here  to  the  customs  of 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  145 

the  Phari&ees  always  to  was/h  their  handa  when  they 
came  from  the  market,  the  Greek  haptizoo;  also  the 
washing  of  cups,  pots,  brazen  vessels,  and  couches,  the 
Greek  haptismos,  the  connection  sho^sing  clearly  that  it 
is  simply  a  ceremonial  purification,  which  the  Jews  were 
accustomed  to  perform  by  sprinkling  the  water  of  puri- 
fication on  the  subject  of  ceremronial  defilement,  doom  of 
ever^'thing  which  is  not  Divine  (Matt.  15:12-14).  His 
disciples,  having  come  to  Him,  said.  Do  you  know  that 
the  Pharisees,  hearing  the  Word,  were  offended  ?  He  re- 
sponding, said.  Every  plant  which  my  Heavenly  Father 
did  not  plant  shall  be  rooted  up.  Let  them  alone ;  th^ 
blind  are  leaders  of  the  blind;  if  the  blind  lead  the 
blind,  both  will  fall  into  the  ditch.''  This  withering  and 
blighting  condemnation  is  applied  directly  to  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees  who  were  at  that  time  the  pastors  and 
leading  officers  of  the  Jewish  church.  God  had  estab- 
lished that  church,  hence  it  is  not  pertinent  to  apply  to 
it  these  awful  woes.  The  solution  of  the  matter  was, 
they  had  built  up  a  carnal,  human  ecclesiasticism  in  the 
name  of  the  church.  This  was  destroyed  by  the  Roman 
armies,  but  the  true  church  survived  in  the  one  hundred 
and  twenty  who  followed  Jesus  in  all  His  vicissitudes 
and  persecution;  and  finally  receiving  the  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  went 
forth  to  evangelize  the  whole  world  and  introduce  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  succession  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets.  In  a  similar  manner  the  gospel  dhurch  is  this 
day  almost  lost  sight  of  in  the  endless  multiplication  of 
human  institutions,  with  a  diversity  with  denomina- 
tional shibboleths,  all  destined  to  go  down  in  the  Gentile 
tribulation,  as  the  comipt  ecclesiasticism  which  the  Sa- 


146  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Tior  is  here  denouncing,  was  swept  away  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem. 

INBRED  SIN. 

Mark  7  :21-23.  For  within  out  of  the  hearts  of  men 
proceed  evil  reasonings,  adulteries,  fornications,  mur- 
ders, thefts,  covetousness,  wickedness,  deceitfulness,  im- 
purity and  evil  eye,  blasphemy,  pride  and  folly — all  these 
evils  proceed  from  within  and  corrupt  the  man.  In  this 
sermon  which  He  preached  at  Capernaum,  the  central 
theme  is  inbred  sin,  revealing  its  location  deep  down  in 
the  profound  interior  of  the  human  spirit,  there  abiding 
in  its  serpentine  coil  and  ready  to  strike,  upon  the  slight- 
est provocation.  Meanwhile  He  most  lucidly  and  radi- 
cally exposes  the  superficiality  of  the  popular  religion, 
which  was  almost  confined  to  the  outward  life,  leaving 
the  motly  group  of  original  depravity  and  the  subtle 
chicanery  of  the  carnal  mind  comparatively  undisturbed. 
A  similar  phenomenon,  peculiar  to  the  fallen  ecclesiasti- 
cisms  of  the  present  age,  is  an  unanswerable  confirma- 
tion of  the  apostasy,  which  seems  only  discemable  to  the 
holiness  people. 

Ephphatha.  This  Greek  word  is  in  the  imperative 
mood,  passive  voice  and  aorist  tense.  Therefore  it  means, 
"Be  thou  instantaneously  opened  this  moment.''  Our 
Savior  spoke  it  to  a  dumb  man  in  Decapolis.  Instantane- 
ously and  simultaneously  with  the  utterance  his  ears 
were  opened  and  tbe  bridle  of  his  tongue  was  opened  so 
that  he  spake  distinctly.  While  in  a  Free  Methodist  camp- 
meeting  at  Emporia,  Kan.,  sister  Jones,  the  wife  of  a 
local  preacher,  with  others,  came  to  the  altar,  seeking  the 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  147 

healing  of  her  dumbness,  as  she  had  not  articulated  her 
voice  in  thirty  months;  meanwhile  all  medical  treatment 
having  proved  ineffectual.    We  prayed  for  them  to  trusi 
Jesus  for  healing.    The  sister  apparently  in  silent  agony, 
had  fallen  oni  the  floor,  her  face  turned  heavenward,  her 
lips  moving  evidently  in  silent  prayer;  when  suddenly 
she  sprang  to  her  feet,  shouted  aloud,  ran  up  and  down 
the  aisles,  leaping,  praising  God,  and  testifying  to  His 
miraculous  healing  of  her  dumbness.     The  matter  re- 
ceived great  notoriety,  her  friends  who  had  known  hei 
in  her  dumbness  two  and  a  half  years,  coming  to  the 
meetings  to  see  and  hear  for  their  own  satisfaction.  Her 
presiding  elder  being  an  eye  witness  told  me  he  had  not 
heard  her  voice  in  the  two  and  a  half  years.    Her  pastor 
being  an  eye  witness  to  her  healing,  testified  to  the  audi- 
ence that  he  knew  it  to  be  a  miracle;  as  he  and  many 
other  physicians  had  exhausted  all  their  medical  skill 
in  her  treatment.    The  Lord  and  His  salvation  for  soul 
and  body,  is  as  real  and  merciful  to-d'ay,  as  when  He 
walked  in  Galilee.     The  moment  He  speaks  the  divine 
ephphatha,  eyes,  ears,  voice  and  all  the  vital  organs,  re- 
spond to  His  bidding.     While  preaching  in  the  land  of 
Decapolis,  so  named  because  of  its  ten  principal  cities, 
Jesus  again  miraclously  feeds  the  multitudes,  some  eight 
or  ten  thousand,  as  Matthew  says,  there  were  four  thous- 
and men  besides  the  women  and  children. 

THE  PHARISEES  AND  SADDUCEES  CLAMOR  FOR  A  SIGN. 

He  is  now  in  the  land  of  Dalmanutha  on  the  North- 
west coast  of  the  sea,  having  sailed  over  from  Decopolis 
on  the  South-east  coast  after  feeding  the  multitudes. 


148  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

I  trow  Mary  Magdalene,  so  named  from  tliis  city 
Magdala,  was  converted  by  His  preaching  at  this  time. 
I  was  in  that  city  during  my  last  tour.  Her  conversion 
was  marvelous,  because  she  had  seven  demons  till  Jesus 
cast  them  out;  after  which  she  became  an  eminent  disci- 
ple, even  standing  at  the  head  of  the  feminine  wing  of 
our  S'avior^s  discipleship ;  faithfully  following  Him  in 
all  of  His  G-alilean  ministry  and  finally  with  a  few  other 
elect  sisters  accompanying  Him  to  Jerusalem,  standing 
by  Him  in  all  His  troubles,  last  at  the  cross,  first  at 
the  sepulchre,  and  first  to  receive  the  full-OTbed  com- 
mission, go  and  preach  the  risen  Savior.  During  His 
ministry  at  Magdala  and  Dalmanutha,  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees,  old  enemies  either  to  other,  now  unite  in 
their  opposition  to  Him,  demanding  a  sign  from  heaven 
confirmatory  of  his  ministry.  To  whom  he  responds,  rec- 
ognizing their  shrewdness  in  the  solution  of  meteorologi- 
cal phenomena ;  but  severally  castigating  their  blindness 
and  stupidity  to  the  signs  of  the  times,  which  were  so 
obvious  to  every  person  enjoying  the  illumination  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  jDrophesies ;  e.  g.  The  sceptre  had 
already  departed  from  Judea,  Gen.  49:10;  the  seventy 
weeks  of  Daiiel  had  just  about  run  out  and  the  power- 
ful ministry  of  John  the  Baptist,  who  stirred  the  nation 
from  cenier  to  circumference;  was  avowedly  fulfilled  in 
his  introduction  of  Jesus.  Here  he  responds,  "A  wicked 
and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign.'"  All 
deflection  from  Christ  is  spiritual  adultery.  Entire 
sanctification  is  the  only  possible  remedy  for  this  spirit- 
ual adultery,  which  blinded  the  eyes  of  the  clerg}'  and 
eldership  in  the  days  of  Christ;  so  that  amid  over- 
whelming prophetic  signs  of  his  Christhood,  they  blindly 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  149 

rejected  all  and  rushed  headlong  to  destruction. 
Though  the  world  to-day  is  flooded  with  the  signs  of 
His  near  coming  both  the  clergy  and  ruling  officers  of 
the  church  are  astoundingly  blind^  to  prophetical  fulfill, 
ments  everywhere  assuring  us  that  the  Lord  is  nigh. 

THE  LEAVEN   OF   DEAD  RELIGLON  AND  POLITICS. 

The  Pharisees  were  the  orthodox  denomination  of 
the  Jewish  church,  the  Sadducees  the  heterodox  and  As- 
senos  the  holiness  people ;  while  the  Herodians  were  the 
most  influential  politicians.  Here  we  see  them  all  united 
in  a  combination  against  Jesus ;  ^leaven'  having  its  usTial 
Bible  meaning  and  here  applied  to  the  corrupt  intrigue 
of  these  parties,  two  of  them  ecclesiastical  and  the  other 
political;  and  all  radically  contrary  to  their  principles, 
united  and  working  together ;  as  both  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  were  violently  opposed,  not  only  to  each  other 
but  especially  to  the  Eoman  government,  which  was 
represented  by  the  Herodians.  The  Pharisees  were  or- 
thodox, like  the  leading  Protestant  denomination  of  to- 
day; but  spiritually  dead.  The  Sadducees  were  hetero- 
doxical  in  doctrine,  and  of  course  spiritually  dead; 
v/hile  the  Herodians  were  corrupt  politicians,  making  no 
claim  to  religion.  Hence  our  Savior's  warning  covers 
all  the  ground;  i.  e.,  dead  religion,  whether  Ortliodox  or 
Heretical,  and  politics  which  are  always  full  of  Satan's 
leaven. 

THE   TWO  WORKS  OF  GRACE. 

Mark  7 :22-26.    Here  we  have  a  clear  and  unanswera- 


150  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Lie  illufetration  of  the  two  works  of  grace  in  the  plan  of 
salvation.  Our  Lord  comes  into  Bethsaida  (Julias,  so 
designated  to  contradistinguish  it  from  Bethsaida),  the 
nativity  of  Peter,  Andrew  and  Philip,  and  standing  on 
the  Xorth-west  coast;  this  town  Bethsaida  Julias  which 
is  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Jordan,  about  a  mile  from  its 
influx  into  the  sea. 

Jesus  taking  him  by  the  hand,  led  him  out 
of  the  village;  "He  spitting  in  his  eyes,  putting  His 
hands  on  him  asks  him  if  he  sees  anything;  looking  up 
he  continued  to  say:  I  am  seeing  men  walking  about 
like  trees.  Then  again  He  put  His  hands  on  his  eyes 
and  made  him  look  up;  and  he  was  restored  and  saw 
all  the  people  distinctly.^^  Here  we  see  the  first  touch 
was  a  great  blessing,  giving  him  light  instead  of  the  pro- 
found darkness  in  which  he  went  groping  about.  While 
this  first  work  is  invaluable  to  the  poor  blind  man ;  yet 
we  see  the  second  was  also  inestimable.  While  vision 
in  any  degree  is  a  wonderful  relief  from  profound  dark- 
ness; yet  distinct  vision  is  a  transcendent  blessing. 
Every  sinner  walks  in  rayless  midnight.  In  conversion 
the  light  gloriously  breaks  in.  His  joy  is  ineffable.  Yet 
He  seee  the  people  like  trees  walking  about. 

I  have  seen  trees  on  the  Pacific  coast  fifty  feet  in 
diameter,  which  had  to  be  dug  up  by  the  roots,  in  order 
to  cultivate  the  land.  Unsanctified  Christians  are  al- 
ways uneasy,  because  they  overestimate  others,  looking 
upon  them  as  great  trees,  instead  of  seeing  them  in  their 
normal  weakness  and  insignificance. 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  151 

JESUS   MONEYLESS. 

Matt.  17  :24-27.  "And  they  having  come  into  Cap- 
ernaum those  receiving  the  half  shekle  came  to  Jesus 
and  said;  does  your  teacher  pay  the  half -shekle?  He 
says ;  Yes.  And  when  he  came  into  the  house  Jesus  an- 
ticipated him  saying,  What  seems  to  you,  Simon  ?  From 
whom  do  the  kings  of  the  earth  receive  toll  or  tribute  ? 
From  their  own  sons,  or  from  aliens?  Peter  says  to 
him ;  from  aliens.  Jesus  said  to  him ;  then  the  sons  are 
free.  But  in  order  that  we  may  not  offend  them,  going 
to  the  sea  cast  in  hook,  and  catch  the  fish  first  coming 
up ;  and  opening  its  mouth  you  will  find  a  statera ;  hav- 
ing taken  it  give  it  to  them  for  me  and  you." 

The  half-shekle  was  the  regular  contribution  to  the 
Temple.  It  was  voluntary.  You  see  the  force  of  the  il- 
lustration in  reference  to  kings,  collecting  from  their 
subjects  who  are  not  members  of  the  royal  families; 
the  latter  being  free  from  taxation,  to  support  the  gov- 
ernment which  they,  themselves  administer.  As  Jesns 
and  Peter  belonged  to  God's  family,  they  were  free  from 
assessment.  Yet  for  the  sake  of  harmony,  Jesus  told 
him  to  go  down  to  the  sea,  cast  in  his  hook,  catch  the 
first  fish  that  bites  and  take  out  of  its  mouth  a  statera, 
the  equivalent  of  two  didrachma,  sufficient  to  pay  the 
usual  annual  contribution  to  the  support  of  the  Temple, 
i.  e.,  seventeen  per  capita.  You  see  from  this  transac- 
tion tV.nt  Jesus,  on  this  occasion,  was  actually  money- 
less. As  this  is  the  only  test  of  which  we  read  in  His 
life;  we  legitimately  infer  that  he  went  through  this 
world  entirely  destitute  of  money,  certainly  involving 
the  conclusion  that  this  is  the  normal  static  of  his  fol- 


152  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

lowers.  The  original  economy  illustrated  in  the  Pente- 
costal revival  was  to  give  all,  to  support  the  widows,  or- 
phans and  the  Lord's  laborers;  henceforth  laboring  in 
God's  husbandry,  depending  on  Him  to  verify  His  beau- 
tiful promise  to  feed  us  like  birds  and  clothe  us  like 
the  lilies.  We  should  certainly  profit  by  the  moneyless 
example  of  our  Lord,  at  the  same  time  utilizing  the  no- 
ble example  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  frequently  supple- 
mented his  support  by  manual  labor. 

INFANCY  IN  THE   KINGDOM. 

Matt.  18:2-5.  Human  generation  is  in  Adam  the 
First  and  regeneration  in  Adam  the  Second.  What  we 
lose  in  the  former,  we  regain  in  the  latter.  When  God 
created  Adam,  he  created  the  whole  human  race;  Eve 
being  no  exception,  but  a  transformation  from  Adam's 
rib.  "\\nien  Adam  fell,  the  race  fell,  not  personally  but 
seniinally.  When  an  infant  is  born,  it  is  not  a  new  crea- 
tion, but  an  evolution  from  Adam,  inheriting  the  carnal 
mind,  which  is  spiritual  death.  Rom.  7:6.  Christ,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  tastes  of  death  for  everyone.  Heb.  11 :9. 
Therefore  so  soon  as  soul  and  body  united  constitute  per- 
sonality, the  grace  of  Christ  imparts  spiritual  life  so 
that  we  are  all  born  in  the  kingdom  as  illustrated  by  the 
prodigal  son  and  his  elder  brother ;  and  we  only  get  out 
by  actual  transgression.  So  our  infants  are  not  sinners, 
but  Christians,  needing  sanctification  to  remove  the  car- 
nal mind,  with  which  they  are  born.  Ps.  51 :5.  "I  was 
shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 
me."  The  depravity  with  which  we  are  born,  and  for 
whieh  we  are  not  condemned,  because  we  never  com- 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  153 

mitted  it,  but  received  it  by  heredity;  turns  our  faces 
away  from  God,  so  if  left  to  ourselves,  we  will  spontan- 
eously start  off  in  actual  transgression,  forfeit  our  jus- 
tification, fall  under  condemnation  and  be  forever  lost. 
Hence  the  great  importance  of  taking  the  child  before  it 
has  gotten  out  of  the  kingdom  by  actual  transgression, 
turning  it  round  (which  is  the  literal  meaning  of  con- 
version), introducing  it  to  the  Savior,  till  the  light  of 
his  countenance  falls  on  it,  gladdens  its  heart,  gives  it  a 
new  spirit;  so  that  instead  of  starting  tow^ards  hell,  it 
sets  out  for  heaven,  without  delay,  and  gladly  travels 
the  King's  highway.  Thus  conversion  should  take  place 
before  the  infantile  justification  is  forfeited  by  transgres- 
sion. Then  the  child  should  be  led  on  into  sanctifica- 
tion,  before  it  has  time  to  backslide,  and  thus  secure  the 
perfect  and  eternal  triumph  over  sin  and  the  devil. 

The  dogma  is  held  by  some  that  the  entire  sanctifica- 
tion  of  parents  would  superinduce  the  birth  of  their 
offspring,  free  from  depravity.  This  is  a  mistake,  as  in- 
fants born  are  not  a  denovo  creation,  but  as  the  Method- 
ist Discipline  says,  a  traduction  from  Adam,  involved  in 
the  sin  of  the  fall. 

REGENERATION  DOES  NOT  REMOVE  INBRED  SIN. 

Mark  9  :38-39.  "And  John  responded  to  him  say- 
ing; Teacher,  we  saw  a  certain  one  casting  out  demons 
in  thy  name,  wl^o  does  not  follow  along  with  us.  And 
Jesus  said;  forbid  him  not.  For  there  is  no  one  who 
shall  do  a  miracle  in  my  name  and  be  able  quickly  to 
speak  evil  of  me.  For  w^hosoever  is  not  against  us,  is  on 
pur  side."   Iso  one  doubts  the  conversion  of  loving  John. 


154  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Jesus  bad  already  told  him  and  his  apostolical  comrades, 
that  their  names  were  written  in  heaven.  Yet  you  see 
I'  ii  he  was  not  free  from  the  spirit  of  bigotry  and 
jealousy,  which  lies  down  at  the  bottom  of  sectarian  pre- 
judice; and  must  have  the  second  work  of  entire  sanc- 
tification  to  eradicate  them. 

ENDLESS  PUNISHMENT  OF  THE  WICKED. 

Mark  9  :43-49.  "If  thy  hand  may  offend  thee  cut  it 
off;  it  is  good  for  thee  to  enter  into  life  maimed  rather 
than  having  two  hands  to  depart  into  hell,  into  the  fire 
which  is  unquenchable,  where  the  worm  dieth  not  and 
the  fire  is  not  quenched.  Jesus  thought  this  alarming 
truth  so  exceedingly  important  that  he  repeats  it  three 
times ;  specifying  the  hand,  the  foot  and  the  eye,  actu- 
ally trebbling  the  force  of  this  awful  affirmation.  In 
addition  to  this  tripple  declamation,  the  words  here  se- 
lected by  the  Savior  are  stronger  than  the  casual  reader 
will  ever  apprehend,  unless  he  should  have  access  to  the 
Greek,  e.  g.,  "into  hell,  into  the  fire  which  is  unquench- 
able." From  this  you  see  the  lying  nonsense  of  tak- 
ing the  fire  out  of  hell,  which  frequently,  now-a-days, 
disgraces  the  pulpit.  Jesus  positively  reveals  that  it  is  a 
hell  of  fire,  which  cannot  be  quenched.  "Where  the  worm 
dieth  not  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched."  'Worm^  here 
symbolizes  the  living  creature,  i.  e.,  the  immortal  soul 
which  can  never  die.  !N"o  Hellites  abound  in  Europe 
and  America,  and  are  rapidly  increasing.  I  do  not  mean 
infidels  and  non-professors,  but  people  in  pulpit  and 
pew,  who  profess  to  be  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  They  will 
have  terrible  trouble  in  the  judgment  day,  for  hushing 


Jesus  Preaching  in  Galilee.  155 

the  alarm  bells,  which  Jesus  gave  his  people  to  ring  to 
warn  the  wicked  of  their  awful  danger;  and  defacing 
the  guide-boards  which  he  puts  up  in  this  world 
to  escort  the  travelers  along  the  narrow  way,  and 
keep  the  real  hell  scare  on  them,  lest  they  go 
to  sleep  in  the  enemies'  land  and  the  robbers 
overtake  them.  The  people  that  take  a  burning  hell 
with  its  fires  eternally  unquenchable  out  of  the  Bible, 
occupy  an  appalling  attitude,  as,  that  of  flat  and  une- 
quivocal contradiction  of  the  Savior. 

CHURCH  DISCIPLINE. 

Matt.  18  :15-22.  We  see  here  the  law  of  our  Lord 
in  reference  to  an  offending  brother.  Go  with  prayer 
and  love  in  your  heart,  and,  by  tlie  grace  of  God,  seek  his 
reclamation.  If  you  fail,  then  take  with  you  one  or 
two  others  and  plead  with  him  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
If  you  all  fail  bring  him  before  the  church.  If  he  re- 
ject all,  let  him  be  a  member  no  longer.  You  are  to  be 
full  of  a  forgiving  spirit,  ready  in  case  of  repentance  to 
forgive  seventy  times  seven  offenses;  i.  e.,  indefinitely. 
Our  Lord  confirms  this  problem  by  the  case  of  a  man 
who  owed  myriads  of  talents.  A  myriad  is  ten  thous- 
and. Here  it  is  in  the  plural  number.  Talents  was  a 
princely  sum  of  money,  its  value  depending  on  the  cur- 
rency, whether  gold  or  silver.  As  tliey  are  both  here  in 
the  plnral  number,  the  phrase  Gets  forth  a  princely  sum, 
actually  indefinite  and  innumerable.  ^Mien  this  m?.n 
indeed  in  contrition,  plead  the  mercy  of  his  Lord,  moved 
with  compassion  he  freely  donated  him  the  whole 
debt.      Then    going    out    and    finding    a    man    who 


156  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

owed  him  a  imndred  demaria;  i.  e.,  fifteen  dol- 
lars, taking  him  by  the  throat  he  cast  him  into 
prison.  The  fellow  servants  all  grieved  over  the  outrage, 
told  the  Lord  about  it;  who,  being  angry,  delivered 
him  to  the  tormentors  till  he  should  pay  all  that  he  was 
owing  him.  This  is  a  clear  illustration  setting  forth  the 
relation  of  every  human  being  to  the  Lord.  We  are  in 
debt  to  him,  an  absolutely  incalculable  sum,  which  we 
never  can  pay  in  all  the  flight  of  eternal  ages.  Conse- 
quently the  least  thing  we  can  do  is  freely  and  fully  to 
forgive  everybody  who  owes  us  anything.  We  can  never 
go  up  and  live  in  heaven  unless  we  are  full  of  love  and 
mercy  like  the  Savior. 

This  superabounding  love,  mercy  and  gratitude,  we 
must  be  always  ready  to  manifest  freely,  gladly  and  fully, 
forgiving  everyone  who  has  ever  in  the  smallest  man- 
ner offended  us. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

JESUS    PREACHES    AMONG    THE    GENTILES. 
I.      TO  THE  SAMARITANS. 

John  4.  Jesus  having  begun  His  ministry  with  the 
first  Passover  at  Jerusalem,  in  the  purification  of  the 
Temple;  preached  but  a  short  time  in  and  about  the 
city,  till  He  left  for  the  north,  giving  as  a  reason  "that 
a  prophet  is  wtthout  honor  in  his  own  country" ;  Galilee 
being  his  native  land,  would  not  be  so  excited  by  his 
ministry  as  Judea.  The  normal  effect  of  all  this  extra- 
ordinary sensation,  being  the  arousement  of  the  multi- 
tude to  arise  and  crown  Him  king,  thus  provoking  the 
Roman  government  to  put  Him  to  death  under  charge 
of  high  treason  against  Caesar.  As  Samaria  reaches  all 
the  way  across  the  main  land  of  Palestine,  from  the  Jor- 
dan on  the  east  to  the  Mediterranean  on  the  west ;  it  is 
necessary  to  either  cross  the  Jordan  twice  and  travel 
through  Perea,  quite  a  circuitous  route,  or  go  directly 
through  Samaria.  Jesus  chose  the  latter,  being  led  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  who  knew  he  had  so  convicted  a  poor 
fallen  woman  in  that- country,  that  she  was  ready  to  meet 
Jesus  and  get  saved.  Samaria  was  a  country  of  the  ten 
tribes  who  follow  Jeroboam  in  the  revolt  from  Reho- 
boam.  This  proving  a  departure  from  the  religion  of 
David  and  the  prophets  superinduced  a  downward  trend 
in  the  direction  of  the  Baalistic  idolatry,  so  prevalent  in 
Palestine  and  Syria,  their  neighbors;  especially  during 

157 


158  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  administrations  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel,  the  daughter  of 
of  the  King  of  Sidon;  ultimating  in  their  transpor cation 
into  Babylonial  captivity  by  Shalmanezer,  B.  C.  721. 
As  the  years  roll  on  and  the  few  poor  people  left  by  the 
Babylonial  monarch  to  take  care  of  the  land,  proved 
incompetent  to  keep  down  the  will  beasts,  the  lions  mul- 
tiplying so  rapidly  as  to  threaten  the  very  existence  of 
the  few  inhabitants.  Consequently  King  Esarhaddon 
sent  quite  a  population,  gathered  up  from  different 
heathen  nations,  to  colonize  the  country.  They  had  their 
heathen  religions,  which  they  mixed  up  with  the  cor- 
rupt Judeaism  they  found  among  the  few  surviving  na- 
tives. When  under  the  administration  of  Cyrus  the 
Great  the  Jews  were  restored  to  their  native  land,  B.  C. 
490,  and  proceeded  to  rebuild  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  Temple;  Sanballot,  the  governor  of  Samaria, 
was  anxious  in  corporation  with  his  people,  to  join  Nehe- 
miah  and  the  Jews  in  the  enterprise.  When  rejected 
by  Nehemiah  and  the  elders  of  Israel,  becoming  very 
hostile,  he  hindered  the  work  in  every  possible,  way,  so 
that  Nehemith  ordered  the  men  of  Israel  to  go  ahead 
building  the  walls,  with  the  sword  in  one  hand  and  the 
trowel  in  the  other.  When  Sanballot  and  the  Samari- 
tans found  themselves  utterly  rejected  from  an  interest 
in  Solomon's  temple;  they  proceeded  to  build  a  rival 
temple  on  Mt.  Gerizim.  They  erected  a  very  magnificent 
temple  on  the  summit  of  that  great  mountain.  It  is 
still  a  wonder  to  the  traveller,  though  somewhat  in  ruin 
by  the  many  desolating  wars  which  has  swept  over  the 
land. 

When  Jacob  was  traveling  with  his  vast  herds  and 
flocks  from  Mesopotamia  to  the  homestead  at  Beersheba 


Jesus  Preaching  Among   the   Gentiles.         159 

in  South  Canaan,  he  pitched  his  tent  and  dw^elt  in  the 
valley  of  Succoth  between  Mt.  Gerizim  on  the  south,  and 
Ebal  on  the  north.  Though  the  land  is  well  watered,  so 
many  animals  would  be  likely  to  suffer  in  case  of  an  ex- 
cessive summer  drouth,  which  is  rather  peculiar  to  that 
country.  As  a  fortification  against  the  liability  of  losing 
his  stock  during  a  water  famine,  Jacob  dug  this  well 
ninety  feet  deep,  finding  never  failing  water.  Jesus, 
when  weary  of  His  long  walk,  sat  on  the  well,  and  so  did 
I,  thrilled  with  the  thought  that  I  am  really  in  His 
track.  The  woman,  very  far  from  God,  comes  for 
water,  is  accosted  by  a  stranger,  wliose  Jewish  identity 
she  recognizes  from  his  costume  and  physique,  asking 
her  for  a  drink  of  water.  With  no  inclination  to  refuse 
the  small  favor,  she  tantalizes  him  a  moment,  referring 
to  the  implacable  hostility  betw^een  the  two  nations.  He 
now  proceeds  to  speak  to  her  about  the  living  water 
which  he  gives;  eventually  correcting  her  misapprehen- 
sion that  his  speaking  of  the  water  in  the  well.  Having 
aroused  her  interest  in  the  salvation  he  has  already  sym- 
bolically illustrated  by  the  water ;  he  shoots  a  flaming  ar- 
row directly  into  her  heart,  by  telling  her  all  about  her 
bad  life  in  a  w^ord,  thus  pungently  convicting  her  of  sin 
and  inspiring  her  recognition  that  he  is  a  prophet,  and 
at  the  same  time  arousing  her  suspicion,  that  he  is  really 
the  Christ,  for  whom  not  only  all  Israel,  but  the  entire 
heathen  world  were  looking. 

Here  you  observe  that  He  declares  his  Christhood  to 
this  woman  unhesitatingly.  Vs.  25-26.  "The  woman  says 
to  him ;  I  know  that  the  Messiah  cometh,  who  is  called 
Christ;  when  he  may  come,  he  will  proclaim  to  us  all 
things."  Jesus  says  to  her,  "I  who  speak  to  thee  am  He." 


160  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

So  you  s»e  that  He  does  not  hesitate  to  declare  his 
Christhood  among  those  heathen  Samaritans.  The  rea- 
son of  this  is  obvious.  He  knew  that  the  Samaritans  did 
not  want  a  Jew  for  their  king.  You  see  as  you  read  on 
in  the  chapter,  that  this  woman  not  only  got  converted, 
but  ran  away  and  stirred  the  whole  city  by  her  thrilling 
testimony.  Jesus  remained  two  days  preaching  to  them, 
receiving  quite  a  number  of  converts.  N".  B.  You  rec- 
ognize the  decisive  contrast  between  the  preaching  of 
Jesus  among  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles.  With  the  latter 
he  always  declared  his  Christhood;  with  the  former, 
never. 

II.      TO   THE   PHOENICIANS. 

Mark  7:24-30.  On  this  occasion  Jesus  and  his  dis- 
ciples had  gone  away  from  the  land  of  Israel  to  take  a 
rest  among  the  Gentiles  in  the  region  of  Tyre  and  Sidon. 
Meanwhile  a  Syrophoenican  woman;  i.  e.,  a  mixed 
blood  of  Syria  and  Phoenecia.,  denominated  a  Greek; 
because  the  Alexanderians  h-ad  so  scattered  the  Greeks 
throughout  the  whole  world,  establishing  them  in  all  the 
governments,  and  putting  them,  in  tilie  leadership  of  all 
nations,  giving  them  su-ch  a  -degree  of  world-wide  notor- 
iety and  prominence,  m-aking  their  language  the  learned 
vocabulary  of  the  eduaational  circles  in  every  nation,  so 
that  Greek  becaime  'Sfjanphonious  with  Gentile,  designat- 
ing the  whole  world,  except  the  Jews.  When  Jesus  cast 
the  demon  out  of  this  woman's  daughter  he  did  not  en- 
join secrecy  as  so  frequently  among  the  Jews.  He  knew 
the  Phoenicians  did  not  want  a  Jew  for  their  king. 
These  visits  of  Jesus,  and  His-  ministry  among  the  Gen- 


Jesus  Preaching  Among  the  Gentiles.  161 

tiles  are  brilliant  scintillations  of  the  oncoming  call  and 
evangelization  of  the  whole  Gentile  world. 

III.      TO  THE  GADARENES. 

When  JesTis  returned  home  to  Nazareth  after  receiv- 
ing the  Holy  Ghost  under  the  ministry  of  John  at  the 
Jordan,  and  preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  synagogue 
where  he  had  worshiped  thirty  years;  stirring,  arousing 
and  burning  them  (as  the  Holy  Ghost  preaching  always 
does),  till  they  rise  in  a  mob,  determined  to  kill  him; 
but  the  divinity  coming  to  the  rescue  of  the  humanity, 
he  fled  away  to  Capernaum,  making  it  his  home  during 
the  two  and  a  half  years  of  his  ministry  in  Galilee;  it 
is  said,  Matt.  4 :14,  "That  the  word  of  Esaias  may  be  ful- 
filled ;  thou  land  of  Zebulon  and  land  of  Nephthalim,  by 
the  way  of  the  sea,  beyond  the  Jordan,  Galilee  of  the 
Gentiles ;  the  people  sitting  in  darkness  saw  great  light ; 
and  those  sitting  in  the  valley  and  shadow  of  death  light 
sprang  up.^'  That  country  was  Gadara  on  the  North- 
east coast  of  the  Galilean  sea ;  Gergesa  near  the  sea  being 
the  capital,  a  magnificent  walled  city.  Consequently, 
Matt.  8:28,  says  that  he  went  into  the  country  of  the 
Gergesenes,  while  Mark  5:1-21  and  Luke  8:26-40  say 
that  he  and  his  disciples  came  into  the  country  of  the 
Gadarenes.  His  ministry  there  was  quite  brief,  being 
arrested  suddenly  and  abruptly  by  the  popular  protes- 
tation against  the  wholesale  destruction  of  the  swine, 
which  had  resulted  from  their  possession  of  the  legion 
of  demons. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  the  occupancy  of  the  two 
thousand    hogs    by    the    ten    thousand,     demons     (i. 


162  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

e.,  five  per  capita),  di-dt  result  in  their  violent 
insanity  and  suicide.  Five  devils  in  one  hog  are 
certainly  enough  to  run  him  crazy  and  cause 
him  to  kill  himself.  We  have  here  a  withering  rebuke 
on  the  people,  demoniacally  possessed  on  all  sides  and 
apparently  satisfied  in  their  awful  condition,  resigned 
to  be  the  habitation  of  devils.  We  see  the  hogs,  utterly 
unwilling  to  acquiesce  in  such  a  fate,  but  actually  re- 
sorting to  suicide,  rather  than  to  let  devils  live  in  them. 
Here  we  see  that  when  the  legionary  was  so  wonderfully 
delivered  from  the  demons,  he  wanted  to  go  away  with 
Jesus;  but  he  sent  him  to  his  own  people  to  preach  to 
them  the  wonderful  salvation  which  he  had  received 
at  the  hands  of  Jesus.  That  country  is  also  called  De- 
capolis,  which  means  ten  cities,  from  deca,  ten,  and  jwlis^ 
city.  It  is  said  that  Pella,  the  city  to  which  the  Chris- 
tians fled  from  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  is  also  in 
that  country;  and  that  the  reason  why  they  met  a  kind 
reception  and  found  a  safe  retreat  from  the  awful  doom 
of  their  nation,  who  were  all  either  killed,  sold  into 
slavery,  or  led  captive  to  Rome,  except  these  fugitive  dis- 
ciples of  our  Lord;  w^as  because  this  legionare  in  his 
evangelistic  peregrination,  had  gone  thither,  preaching 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  You  see  how  differ- 
ently Jesus  treated  this  great  and  stupendous  miracle 
from  his  uniform  proceedure  among  the  Jews;  i.  e., 
charging  them  not  to  tell  his  mighty  works.  The  rea- 
son is  obvious :  the  publicity  of  his  miracles  among  the 
Jews,  constantly  conduced  to  foment  the  popular  ex- 
citement in  reference  to  his  Messiahship  ever}^heTe  pre- 
valent and  excite  the  people  to  rise  up  in  a  mob  too 
strong  for  the  Roman  police,  and  crown  him  King  of 


Jesus  Preaching  Among   the   QenUles.         163 

the  Jews,  which  would  surely  bring  a  Roman  army  with 
all  possible  expedition,  inundate  the  country  with  a 
cruel,  bloody  war,  bound  to  end  in  his  crucifixion,  as  it 
did  one  year  hence.  But  you  see  that  instead  of  charg- 
ing the  Gadarene  not  to  tell  it,  he  ordered  him  to  go 
and  proclaim  everything  throughout  the  whole  country; 
from  the  obvious  reason  that  the  Gadarenes  did  not 
want  a  Jew  to  be  their  king. 

We  see  here  a  mournful  episode  admonishing  all  peo- 
ple to  beware  how  they  treat  Jesus.     You  see  here  when 
they  unanimously  asked  him  to  leave  their  country,  he 
went  away  and  never  returned.    I  was  so  profoundly  im- 
pressed with  this  fatal  transaction,  when  I  visited  that 
land,  and  saw  its  utter  desolation,  without  an  inhabitant 
except  the  wandering  Bedouins,  who  use  it  as  a  graz- 
ing  ground,  pitching    their  tents  here    and  there,  and 
roaming    hither  and     thither  with  their     innumerable 
camels,  donkeys,  sheep,  goats  and  cattle.    Methinks  I  see 
Jesus  and  His  apostles  sadly  acquiescent  in  the  request  of 
all  the  Gadarenes  to  leave  their  country.   They  embark  in 
their  ship  and  sail  away,  the  hulk  appearing  smaller  and 
smaller  as  it  glides  off,  till  eclipsed  in  ether  blue  and 
lost  sight  of  in  the  dashing  spray ;  thus  forever  sealing 
the  death  l^nell  of  those  people.    What  has  been  the  re- 
sult ?     They  have  utterly  perished  from  the  face  of  the 
earth.    There  is  not  a  Gadarene  beneath  the  skies.    Such 
will  be  the    doom  of    all  people  who    request  Jesus  to 
leave  them.     He  will  go  and  never  return.     He  is  not 
going  to  stay  where  he  is  not  wanted.     How  my  heart 
did  soliloquise  as  T  walked  around  on  the  ruined  walls 
of  Gergesa,  their  capital !    Beware  how  you  treat  Jesus ! 
He  is  certain  to  visit  you.    But  equally  certain  to  leave 


164  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

you  if  you  ask  Him  to  go  away  and  let  you  alone ;  and 
equally  certain  never  to  come  back. 

IV.    TO  THE  SYRIANS. 

When  Jesus  had  preached  about  twenty-seven  months 
in  Galilee,  resisting  all  the  efforts  of  the  Jews,  to  ob- 
tain from  Him  a  public  declamation  of  his  Christhood; 
even  John  the  Baptist,  having  done  his  utmost  to  evoke 
such  a  proclamation;  we  see  him  the  finale,  bid  adieu  to 
the  land  of  Israel  and  proceed  up  the  Jordan  valley  to 
its  source,  where  a  beautiful  limpid  river  it  gushes  from 
the  base  of  great  Mt.  Herman,  hard  by  the  city  of  Cesar- 
ea  Philippi,  just  over  the  northern  border  of  Galilee 
and  in  Syria.  We  see  very  obviously  that  the  end  for 
which  he  has  come  thither,  is  to  publicly  proclaim  his 
Christhood.  These  Syrians,  like  the  Samaritans, 
Phoenicians  and  Gadarenes,  did  not  want  a  Jew  for 
their  king.  Such  a  thing  would  have  been  high  treason 
against  Benhadad,  the  king  of  Syria,  whose  loyal  sub- 
jects they  were.  On  the  summit  of  one  of  the  Herman 
mountains,  great  and  mejestic,  I  saw  the  ruins  of  a  pow- 
erful citadel,  celebrated  as  a  stronghold  during  the  mid- 
dle ages;  also  the  ruins  of  a  magnificent  temj)le,  said  to 
have  been  built  by  Herod  the  Great.  This  is  certified  to 
have  been  the  place  where  Jesus  publicly  proclaimed 
his  Messiahship.  Matt.  16  :13-20.  "Jesus  having  come 
into  the  parts  of  Cesarea  Philippi  asked  his  disciples, 
saying,  Wliom  do  the  people  say  that  I,  the  Son  of  Man. 
am?  They  said.  Some  say  John  the  Baptist;  others 
Elijah ;  and  others  Jeremiah  or  one  of  the  prophets.  He 
says  to  them,  but  whom  do  you  say  that  I  am?  Simon 


The  Transfiguration,  '  165 

Peter,  responding  said;  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God.  Jesus  responding,  said  to  him,  Blessed 
art  thou  Simon,  the  son  of  Jonah;  because  flesh  and 
blood  have  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  who 
art  in  the  heavens.  And  I  say  unto  thee,  that  thou  art 
Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church,  and 
the  gates  of  Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  And  I 
will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Heavens;  and  whatsoever  thou  mayest  bind  on  the 
earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou 
shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.  Then 
He  charged  His  disciple  that  they  should  tell  no  one 
that  he  himself  is  the  Christ.  This  is  tlie  first  time  he 
has  publicly  declared  his  Christhood  to  his  apostles. 

Suppose  he  had  done  this  among  the  Jews,  as  you 
well  know  his  track  was  thronged  by  myriads;  they 
would  certainly  have  revolted  against  the  Romans,  and 
proceeded  at  once  to  crown  Him  King  of  the  Jews  in 
the  succession  of  his  Father  David,  thus  precipitating 
the  whole  nation  into  a  stormy  revolution,  boiuid  to  ul- 
timate in  His  death;  as  the  vast  Roman  world  was 
against  them.  Peter,  the  eldest  of  the  apostles,  simply 
here  acts  in  the  capacity  of  their  representative  speaker. 

During  both  of  my  visits  to  Rome,  I  saw  super- 
scribed in  letters  nine  feet  long  in  the  Latin  language, 
about  three  hundred  feet  high  on  the  interior  of  the  vast 
edifice  835  feet  long,  330  feet  wide  and  448  feet  high, 
all  solid  marble,  built  at  the  cost  of  two  hundred  mill- 
ions of  dollars,  occupying  two  hundred  years  in  the  exe- 
cution of  the  work,  the  greatest  monument  of  idolatry 
on  the  earth,  the  expenditure  sufficient  to  put  the  Bible 
in  every  home  beneath  the  skies.     The  papistical  con- 


166  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

struct! on  of  our  Savior's  words  to  Peter  (v.  18)  is,  that 
the  church  was  built  Ijy  him,  whom  they  claim  to  have 
been  the  first  Pope^  corroborating  the  hypothesis,  that 
the  Pope  is  really  the  pillar  of  the  church,  the  vicar  of 
Christ  and  the  vicegerent  on  the  earth.  This  is  all  ut- 
terly untrue,  as  there  never  was  a  Pope  till  A.  D.  606, 
when  Procas,  the  King  of  Italy,  crowned  Boniface  III 
Bishop  of  Rome,  supreme  pontificate  of  all  the  churches. 
Besides  their  construction  of  the  words  of  our  Savior  at 
this  point  is  untenable.  Peter  is  a  Greek  word  which 
means  rock,  not  the  great  unbroken  stratum,  but  a  frag- 
ment of  stone,  wdiich  has  been  taken  out  of  the  quarry, 
and  such  as  you  see  in  buildings.  In  this  passage  we 
have  petros,  which  applies  to  Peter,  and  petra,  whic> 
does  not  mean  a  piece  of  stone  like  petros.  but  the  vasi 
unbroken  stratum,  which  underlies  the  continents  and 
oceans,  constituting  the  solid  crust  of  the  earth.  This 
word  applies  to  Christ  himself.  Matt.  6:24,  and  else- 
where in  both  Testaments ;  setting  forth  the  fact  that  the 
Christhood  of  Jesus  becomes  from  that  moment  the 
great  and  eternal  truth  on  which  the  whole  church  is 
to  be  built  up  in  all  nations  and  ages,  till  su|3erceded 
by  the  glorious  ^lillennial  theocracy  when  the  Lord  re- 
turns to  conquer  and  reign  forever.  The  key  power  here 
is  the  word  of  the  Lord,  which  he  gave  to  Peter  as  the 
representative  of  the  twelve,  and  is  transmitted  to  their 
successors;  i.  e.,  the  ministry  whom  God  calls  and  em- 
powers, to  preach  the  everlasting  gospel  to  all  nations, 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven.  V.  21. 
"From  that  time  Jesus  began  to  show  to  his  disciples, 
that  it  behoove  him  to  go  away  to  Jerusalem  and  to 
suffer  many  things    by  the    elders,  chief    priests    and 


The  Transfiguration.  167 

scribes  and  to  be  put  to  death  and  to  rise  the  third  day. 
And  Peter  drawing  Him  to  him  began  to  rebuke  him 
saying,  be  it  far  from  thee,  this  shall  not  be  unto  thee, 
and  turning  he  said  to  Peter,  Get  behind  me,  adversary; 
thou  art  my  stumbling  block,  because  thou  art  not  think- 
ing about    the  things  of    God,  but  the  things  of    men. 
This  revelation  broke  in  upon  them  like  a  thunder  clap 
from  a  cloudless  sky.     Elated  with  the  confession  of  his 
Christhood,  and  settled  as  all  the  Jews  were  in  their  con- 
victions, that  Christ  is  to  be  their  king,  encumbered  the 
throne  of  David,  beard  the  Roman  yoke,  established  the 
kingdom  of  Israel,  predominant  over  all  their  enemies, 
to  eclipse  the  glory  of  David  and  Solomon,  conquer  the 
world  and  stand  forever.     Which  is  true  of  His  second 
and  glorious   coming,   which  eclipsed   and   supplanted 
from  their  minds,  the  distinct  apprehension  of  his  first 
advent  into  the  world  to  suffer  and  die,  and  thus  redeem 
Adamic  race  from  death  and  hell.     Before  the  apostles 
received  the  sanctifying  fires  of  Pentecost,  they  were  like 
all  other  Christians,  carnal  and  worldly  and  without  the 
perfect  inward  light  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  indis- 
pensable to  the  apprehension  of  spiritual  things.     'Sa- 
tan (v.  23,  E.  V.)  is  too  strong,  as  the  Greek  is  not  cap- 
italized, showing  that  the  word  is  simply  used  in  its  lit- 
eral sense  with  its  lexical  meaning  adversary.     The  Sa- 
vior did  not  call  him  the  devil,  as  you  conclude  from  the 
E.  v.,  but  simply  an  opposer  to  the  deep  things  of  God 
involved  in  the  vicarious  atonement,  which  Jesus  came 
to  make;  and  Peter  had  his  mind  on  the  brilliant  career 
of  the  Christhood,  which  will  be  verified  in  his  second 
coming.    Here  we  have  our  Lord's  first  revelation  of  his 
own  awful  sufferings,  tragical    death,  and    triumphant 


168  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

resurrection.  Peter  was  a  very  sanguine,  quick,  spright- 
ly, impulsive  man.  The  idea  he  got  was,  that  His  ene- 
mies would  get  the  advantage  of  him  and  kill  him. 
Peter  instantly  grabs  the  arm,  draws  Him  to  him,  sim- 
ultaneously and  impulsively  assuring  Him :  "Rest  easy 
about  that.  Lord,  for  they  can't  do  it.  We  will  all  light 
and  die  in  our  tracks  for  you."  Though  the  Lord 
twice  after  this  made  the  same  revelation  to  the  apostles ; 
it  was  so  hidden  from  them  by  tlie  Holy  Ghost,  that 
they  never  did  apprehend  and  realize  the  force  of  it. 
This  was  providentiaL  If  they  had  understood  it  they 
would  have  stirred  up  a  great  civil  war,  in  which  the 
friends  of  Jesus  would  have  fought,  bled  and  died  for 
Him.  Peter,  like  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  would  have 
mounted  his  war-horse  and  led  the  embattled  host. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  TRANSFIGURATION. 

Matt.  42  :1-13 ;  Mark  9  :2-13  and  Luke  9  :28-36.  All 
nistorians  are  bewildered  with  reference  to  the  identity 
of  this  mountain.  They  have  generally  given  their 
vote  in  favor  of  Tabor.  Origin,  the  greatest  writer  of 
his  day,  who  lived  in  the  third  century,  says  it  was 
Tabor.  The  Christians  actually  built  the  three  Taber- 
nacles (v.  4 — one  to  Jesus,  one  to  Moses,  and  one  to 
Elias)  on  that  mountain.  I  have  been  in  them  all.  The 
Monks  who  keep  the  convent,  argue  the  claims  of  that 
mountain  very  stoutly.  Others  believe  it  was  the  Mount 
of  Beatitudes  north  of  Capernaum.  Others  again  claim 
that  it  was  Carmel;  while  still  others  believe  it  was  one 
of  the  mountains  of  Herman,  which  gather  about 
Cesarea  Philippi.  The  impossibility  of  an  accurate  dis- 
crimination in  the  case,  arises  from  the  fact  that  the 
scene  took  place  six  days  subsequent  to  the  preceding 
discourse,  in  which  he  declared  his  Christhood  to  his 
apostles.  As  we  have  no  record  during  those  six  days, 
we  do  not  know  whether  the  traveled  or  not.  There  is 
at  least  a  probability  that  they  might  have  traveled  from 
Csesarea  Philippi  during  those  days;  and  it  is  only  about 
sixty  miles  down  he  Jordan  Valley  to  Capernaum,  where 
we  find  the  next  record  of  their  whereabouts.  It  might 
have  been  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes,  which  hangs  over 
Capernaum,  or  Mt.  Hattan,  which  hangs  over  Tiberius 
on  the  west  coast.-    Besides,  it  is  only  about  forty  miles 

169 


170  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

from  Capernaum  to  Mt.  Tabor,  which  has  the  precedence 
of  all  others  in  point  of  histor}^  The  scene  is  so  won- 
derful, absorbing,  thrilling  and  impressive,  that  the 
mountain,  if  definitely  known,  would  be  the  center  of 
boundless  superstitions,  leading  to  idolatry.  I  trow  this 
is  the  reason  the  Lord  did  not  give  its  name.  "Truly  I 
say  unto  you,  there  are  some  of  those  standing  here  who 
may  taste  not  of  death,  until  they  may  see  the  Son  of 
Man  coming  in  His  kingdom"  (Matt.  9  :28).  "For  who- 
soever shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  my  words  in  this 
adulterous  and  sinful  world,  truly  the  Son  -of  man  shall 
be  ashamed  of  him  when  He  shall  come  in  the  glory  of 
His  Father  with  the  holy  angels.  And  He  said  to  them, 
Truly  I  say  unto  you,  that  there  are  certain  ones  of  those 
standing  here  who  may  not  taste  death,  until  they  may 
see  the  kingdom  of  God  having  come  in  power."  Mark 
7 :38 ;  9  :1.  "For  whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and 
my  words,  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  ashamed  of  him 
when  He  may  come  in  His  glory  and  that  of  the  Father 
and  the  holy  angels.  But  I  say  unto  you,  truly  there  are 
some  of  those  standing  here,  who  may  not  taste  of  death 
until  they  may  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  Luke  9  :26,  27. 
•'For  not  followng  cunningly  devised  fable&,have  we  made 
known  unto  you  the  power  and  cunning  of  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  but  being  eye-witnesses  of  His  majesty.  For 
receiving  from  God  the  Father,  the  honor  and  glory  of 
such  a  voice  having  been  borne  to  him  by  the  excellent 
glory;  this  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased.  And  we  heard  this  voice  being  borne  down 
from  Heaven,  being  alone  with  Him  in  the  holy  mount." 
2  Peter  1 :16-18. 

Here  we  see  that  Peter  affirms  that  they  did  witness 


The  Transfiguration.  171 

his  coming,  power  and  glory  when  they  were  with  them 
on  the  holy  mount,  as  Jesus  had  told  them  that  they 
should  not  taste  of  death  until  they  should  see  the  king- 
dom of  God  come  with  power  and  glory.  It  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact  that  tills  prophecy  actually  received  a  grand 
adumbratory  fulfillment  on  the  Mount  of  Transfigura- 
tion. The  also  six  days  here  in  which  we  have  no  record 
of  anything  taking  place  evidently  have  a  symbolic  sig- 
nification. In  this  very  Scripture  above  quoted  (ch.  3-8) 
we  have  the  statement  "that  one  day  with  the  Lord  is 
as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  is  as  one  day." 
God  created  the  world  in  six  days,  I  trow  six  tliousand 
years,  as  geology  abundantly  evinces,  and  you  see  the 
Bible  thousand-year-day  corroborates.  Then  the  Eden 
Sabbath,  another  thousand  years,  follows,  terminating  in 
the  sad  eclipse  of  the  fall,  turning  the  world  over  to.  Sa- 
tan (2  Cor.  4:4),  the  week  of  hard  toil,  suffering,  sor- 
row, bloodshed  and  death  supervenes,  with  his  heavy 
tread  of  six  thousand  years,  whose  black  darkness  is  des- 
tined to  recede  before  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  rising 
with  the  healing  of  His  wings  and  ushering  in  the  glori- 
ous Millennial  Sabbath,  destined  to  accumulate  new 
brightness  through  the  triumphant  roll  of  another  thou- 
sand years.  The  testimony  of  Peter  here  beautifully 
corroborates  the  prediction  of  Jesus  that  some  of  them 
would  be  eyewitnesses  of  His  coming,  power  and  glory, 
before  they  should  ever  taste  of  death.  How  significant- 
ly it  was  verified  in  case  of  Peter,  James  and  John,  wh« 
actually  beheld  His  glory  while  with  Him  on  the  holy 
mount.  Matthew,  ;Mark  and  Luke  all  testify  that  the 
glory  of  Jesus.  Moses  and  Elijah  was  such  that  no 
tonsne  could  describe  the  splendor  and  grandeur.     The 


172  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

solution  of  the  matter,  the  harmonization  of  Peter's  tes- 
timony, that  of  the  three  G-ospel  writers,  and  the  proph- 
esy of  Jesus,  clearly  involves  the  conclusion  that  this 
transfiguration  scene  was  really  a  prelude  adumbrating 
the  Lord's  second  coming,  after  the  similitude  of  His 
glorious  coming  to  Paul  on  Damascus  road ;  unlike  His 
proleptical  appearing  to  Abraham  at  Mamre,  and  Nebu- 
chadnezzar at  Babylon,  anticipatory  of  His  inclination 
and  first  advent.  In  the  transfiguration  we  have  the 
whole  human  race  represented  by  Moses  and  Elijah,  Je- 
sus himself  being  the  infallible  Paragon.  (N.  B. — The 
scene  took  place  in  the  night,  occupying  all  of  it.)  Mean- 
while Moses  and  Elijah  were  seen  to  depart,  and  Jesus 
remained,  signifying  their  resignation  of  their  delegated 
and  expiring  power.  Moses  represented  all  who  will  en- 
ter the  transfiguration  glory  tlirough  the  resurrection, 
as  the  record  says  that  he  died  and  God  buried  him. 
Jude  9  gives  us  an  epitomized  history  of  a  terrible  con- 
flict between  the  archangel  Michael  and  the  Devil  over 
the  body  of  Moses,  which  certainly  involves  the  conclu- 
sion of  his  resurrection,  as  the  Devil  never  fights  over 
the  dead,  but  the  living.  If  he  had  never  conquered  the 
human  bod}',  it  would  never  die,  so  long  as  your  soul  is 
dead,  the  devil  is  satisfied  with  you,  and  will  waste  no 
ammunition  on  you.  The  same  is  true  in  reference  to 
the  body.  Hence  the  devil's  fight  with  the  archangel 
over  the  body  of  Moses  simply  involves  the  conclusion 
that  Michael,  responsive  to  the  divine  mandate,  had 
come  down  to  raise  Moses  from  the  dead.  This  is  cor- 
roborated by  Daniel  (ch.  12),  where  you  see  the  Arch- 
angel Michael  is  coming  down  (doubtless  in  command 
of  the  resurrection  angels),  when  the  bride  of  Christ 


The  Transfiguration,  ^73 

will  be  raised,  and  thus  delivered  from  the  great  tribula- 
tion. Hence  you  see  the  presence  of  Moses  in  the  trans- 
figuration glory  is  the  confirmation  that  the  buried 
saints  will  all  be  glorified  through  the  resurrection. 
Meanwhile  the  presence  of  Elijah,  the  greatest  of  the 
prophets,  is  the  confirmation  that  all  the  saints^  who 
shall  be  living  on  the  earth  when  the  Lord  comes  in  Hia 
transfiguration  glory,  will  also  be  transfigured.  The 
scene  of  the  transfiguration  should  ever  move  in  a  ce- 
lestial panorama  before  the  contemplative  eyes  of  every 
soul  aspiring  to  that  transcendent  glory.  As  it  will  take 
place  when  the  Lord  returns  to  the  earth,  for  which  we 
should  be  in  constant  outlook,  and  we  know  not  the  mo- 
ment of  His  appearing,  therefore  our  true  attitude  is 
that  of  constant  readiness  and  expectation  of  the  trans- 
figuration. When  Jesus  and  the  three  apostles  came 
down  from  the  mountain,  they  found  a  great  multitude 
assembled  and  all  excited  over  a  notable  case  of  de- 
moniacal ejectment — a  poor  little  boy  so  possessed  with 
an  awful  demon  which  has  rendered  him  both  dumb  and 
deaf,  at  the  same  time  afflicting  him  witli  an  awful  epi- 
lepsy; so  that  the  paroxysm  coming  on  him  he  often 
falls  into  the  water.  The  father  testifies  that  he  has 
been  thus  afflicted  from  his  childhood.  Doubtless  much 
of  the  epilepsy  now  prevalent  and  filling  our  asylums 
with  sufferers,  is  caused  by  a  similar  demoniacal  posses- 
sion. When  the  crowd  sees  Jesus,  they  begin  to  run  to 
Him  from  all  directions,  eager  to  see  what  He  will  do. 
Jesus  sees  they  are  going  to  throng  Him,  so  He  expe- 
dites the  work  while  He  has  room,  commanding  the  deaf 
and  dumb  spirit  to  come  out  of  him  and  come  no  more 
into  him.     That  very  moment  the  evil  spirit  seizing, 


1Y4  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

convulsed  him  much  and  came  out,  leaving  the  boy 
looking  like  a  corpse,  bloodless,  lifeless,  cold,  ashy  and 
ghastly,  so  that  many  contended  he  was  dead.  Jesus, 
taking  him  by  the  hand,  lifted  him  up,  and  he  was  all 
right.  The  utterance  of  our  Lord  (v.  23)  is  xery  in- 
spiring; responsive  to  the  father,  he  said,  ''If  you  are 
able  to  believe,  all  things  are  possible  to  him  that  be- 
lieveth."  I  am  well  acquainted  with  Eev.  E.  J.  Terrell, 
of  the  Kentucky  Conference,  and  Eev.  Bud  Robinson, 
of  Greenville,  Texas,  who  were  hopeless  epileptics  and 
miraculously  healed  like  this  young  man.  We  should 
all  constantly  remember  the  omnipotence  of  faith  as 
here  affirmed  by  our  wonderful  Savior. 

Mark  9 :  14-2  9.  We  here  have  a  most  vivid  and  im- 
pressive contrast  between  the  unearthly  transfiguration 
glory  on  the  mountain  summit  and  the  diabolical  rage  of 
hell  manifested  in  this  awfully  stubborn  devil  down  in 
the  valley,  illustrating  the  mixed  character  of  this  world 
— a  prelibation  both  of  heaven  and  hell,  tlie  former  real- 
ized in  a  life  of  spiritual  elevation,  dwelling  on  the 
]\Iount  of  God,  where  the  light  of  the  supernatural  glory 
shines  night  and  day ;  and  the  other  in  the  low,  foggy, 
miasmatic  regions  of  the  earth,  where  poisonous  reptiles, 
croaking  frogs  and  doleful  creatures  abound,  and  the 
inhabitants  are  contaminated  with  the  breath  of  hell  and 
possessed  by  demons.  We  see  here  that  Jesus  repri- 
manded the  nine  apostles  for  the  weakness  of  their  faith 
and  their  consequent  failure  to  eject  the  demon,  remind- 
ing them  that  if  they  had  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed  they  would  actually  be  competent  to  remove  moun- 
tains of  difficulty  confronting  them  in  the  spiritual 
world. 


The  Transfiguration,  175 

JESUS  CALLS  AND  SENDS  THE  SEVENTY. 

Luke  10  :1-1G.  Almost  two  and  a  half  years  have  al- 
ready flowTi,  leaving  but  six  months  in  which  to  finish 
His  work.  He  assumed  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  where  He 
must  beard  the  lion  in  his  den.  What  a  paradox !  Je- 
rusalem, the  City  of  God,  and  headquarters  of  the 
church,  has  actually  become  the  stronghold  of  hell  on 
the  earth,  where  Jesus  well  knows  it  will  cost  Him  His 
life  to  preach  the  truth.  Why  was  this?  Simply  be- 
cause Satan  had  succeeded  in  capturing  the  leading 
clergy  and  the  ruling  eldership  of  the  church.  Shall  we 
never  learn  wisdom  ?  Know  ye  not  that  the  same  history 
is  this  day  repeating  itself  from  Dan  to  Beersheba  ?  In 
view  of  the  significant  fact  that  He  has  now  but  six 
months  in  which  to  finish  the  work  for  which  He  left 
Heaven  and  came  to  this  land  of  sin  and  sorrow ;  in  or- 
der to  expedite  the  work,  He  calls  out  seventy  others, 
making  thirty-five  evangelistic  bands,  each  led  by  a  God- 
ordained  and  heaven-sent  duet,  exhorting  them  to  go 
with  all  possible  expedition  from  city  to  city,  preaching 
the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  reminding  them  to  open  wide 
the  door  of  gospel  grace  to  all  who  will  enter,  and  to 
those  who  reject  them  with  contempt,  to  knock  off  the 
dust  from  their  feet,  assuring  them  at  the  same  time 
that  it  will  be  more  tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  and 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for 
the  Jewish  cities  which  reject  gospel  light  ;whereas  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  and  Tyre  and  Sidon  were  heathen  cities 
which  never  did  hear  the  ci\^l  notes  of  gospel  grace,  set- 
ting forth  the  fact  that  the  most  awful  doom  awaiting 
the  wicked  in  the  judgment  day  is  destined  to  overtake 


176  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

those  who  have  rejected  the  brightest  noonday  gospel 
light  and  opportunity.  The  commission  of  the  seventy, 
in  addition  to  the  twelve,  exceedingly  augmented  their 
already  tremendous  responsibilities  of  the  Jewish  church 
and  nation.  - 

FESTIVAL  OF  TABERNACLES. 

Whereas  the  Passover  symbolizes  regeneration,  mark- 
ing the  epoch  of  IsraeFs  national  birth,  and  Pentecost, 
sanctification,  the  feasts  of  Tabernacles,  which  came  off 
about  the  last  of  September  and  first  of  October,  typified 
glorification. 

Eighteen  months  have  rolled  away  since  Jesus  was  in 
Jerusalem,  or  even  Judea,  or  elsewhere  in  South  Canaan. 
Meanwhile  the  hierarchy  have  been  making  their  boasts 
that  they  have  completely  scared  Him  away,  and  His 
face  will  be  seen  no  more  in  that  country,  at  the  same 
time  adding  their  threats  to  kill  Him  should  He  ever 
come  back,  feeling  His  absence  from  the  third  Passover 
ominous  of  His  utter  abandonment  of  Jerusalem  and 
the  South.  And  the  feast  of  the  Jews,  and  that  of  Tab- 
ernacles was  nigh.  "Then  His  brothers  said  unto  Him, 
'Depart  thence  and  go  into  Judea  in  order  that  Thy  dis- 
ciples may  see  Thy  work  which  Thou  art  doing.  For  no 
one  does  anything  in  secret  and  himself  seeks  to  be  pub- 
lic. If  you  do  these  things,  manifest  yourself  to  the 
world.  For  His  brothers  were  not  believing  on  Him' " 
(John  7:2-5).  He  had  four  brothers  and  some  sisters, 
evidently  all  younger  than  Himself.  The  names  of  the 
former  were  James,  Judas,  Simon  and  Joses.  We  natur- 
allv  wonder  that  His  own  brothers  did  not  believe  on 
Him.   There  is  no  doubt  that  they  did  believe  He  was  a 


The  Transfiguration.  Vt*\ 

prophet,  but  found  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  accept  the 
paradoxical  idea  that  He  was  the  Christ.  This  origi- 
nated from  the  fact  that  they  were  reared  together 
in  the  same  family.  They  all  frankly  admitted  that  He 
was  wonderfully  good  all  His  life,  while  the  idea  that 
their  own  brother  Jesus  was  the  Shiloh  of  prophecy,  the 
Christ  of  God,  the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  and  the  Savior 
of  the  world,  was  too  much  for  them  to  take  in.  Thus 
they  stood  in  the  attitude  of  hesitating  incredulity  till 
they  crucified  Him.  Then  they  said,  "Our  precious 
Brother  was  surely  a  mighty  prophet  of  the  Lord,  hav- 
ing great  power,  and,  like  Elijah  and  Elisha,  perform- 
ing wondrous  miracles;  yet  He  ventured  too  far,  let 
His  enemies  get  the  advantage  of  Him;  consequently 
He  has  sadly  fallen  victim  to  their  cruelty."  But  a  few 
hours  of  weeping  roll  away,  and  their  brother  Jesus 
rises,  walks  out  of  the  sepulchre,  and  they  again  see  Him 
alive.  All  their  doubts  now  evanesce.  They  leap  into 
the  air  with  tremendous  shouts_,  roll  on  the  earth  with 
rhapsody  unutterable,  and  shout  aloud  to  everybody, 
"Be  it  known  to  all  the  world,  that  after  all,  our  Brother 
Jesus  is  none  other  than  the  world^s  Messiah,  the  Christ 
of  God  and  the  Eedeemer  of  Israel."  Not  only  do  the 
four  become  enthusiastic  disciples,  but  James  and  Judas 
are  actually  honored  with  a  place  in  the  apostleship,  the 
former  being  installed  pastor  in  Jerusalem. 

Though  He  declined  the  solicitation  of  His  brothers 
to  go  to  the  feast,  sending  them  on  with  the  gathering 
multitudes.  He  goes  up  in  a  few  days,  arriving  midway 
in  the  festival ;  i.  e.,  Wednesday,  as  it  opened  and  closed 
on  the  Sabbath,  occupying  eight  days.  Doubtless  His  re- 
fusal to  go  with  the  crowd  at  the  beginning  was  to  avoid 


jij^g  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

it,  which  would  arise,  pending  His  anticipated  corona- 
tion. 

THE  FINAL  DEPARTURE  OF  JESUS  FROM  GALILEE. 

Having  devoted  five-sixths  of  His  ministry  to  Galilee, 
He  now  takes  His  final  adieu  of  the  land  where  He  spent 
the  thirty  years  of  His  minority,  and  two  and  a  half 
years  of  His  Messianic  ministry.  So  now  He  departs 
for  Jerusalem,  to  return  thither  no  more  till  after  He 
shall  have  passed  through  the  dark  valley  of  death 
and  moved  on  into  the  life  of  glory  and  immortality 
Then  He  contemplates  meeting  a  previous  appointment 
with  His  disciples  on  some  unmentioned  Galilean  moun- 
tain, I  trow  that  of  Beatitudes.  During  His  peregrina- 
tion up  to  Jerusalem  "He  sent  messengers  before  His 
face;  having  gone  forth,  they  entered  into  a  village  of 
the  Samaritans,  so  as  to  prepare  for  Him.  And  they 
did  not  receive  Him  because  His  face  was  going  to  Je- 
rusalem. His  disciples,  James  and  John,  seeing,  said, 
Lord,  do  you  wish  that  we  would  demand  fire  to  come 
down  from  Heaven  and  destroy  them  as  Elijah  did? 
And  turning,  He  rebuked  them  and  said,  Do  you  know 
of  what  spirit  you  are,  for  the  Son  of  Man  came  not  to 
destroy  the  souls  of  men,  but  to  save  them.  And  they 
journeyed  into  another  village.^'  I  traveled  along  that 
same  route,  the  old  Caravan  road,  used  in  the  days  of 
Abraham  and  the  transportation  of  commerce  from  Da- 
mascus to  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  way  from  Mesopotamia 
to  Egypt.  It  was  then  carried  on  the  camel's  back,  and 
so  it  is  now.  I  met  many  long  trains  of  those  great  ani- 
mals loaded  with  merchandise,  when  I  traveled  that 
route.  From  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  through  Samaria  to 
Jerusalem,  you  pass  by  the  old  City  of  Samaria,  near 


The  Transfiguration.  x^^ 

«rhich  Elijah  actually  called  the  fire  down  from  Heaven 
to  consume  Ahab's  soldiers,  sent  to  arrest  him.  I  trow 
the  village  that  rejected  Christ  stood  on  the  same  spot 
Here  we  see  He  reprimands  James  and  John  for  their 
retaliatory  spirit,  which  might  comport  with  right- 
eous retribution  under  the  law,  but  was  utterly  incom- 
patible with  the  benignant  love  and  mercy  character- 
istic of  the  gospel.    Luke  9  :ol-56. 

THE   TEN   LEPERS. 

Luke  17:11-19.    On  this  same  journey  of  our  Lord 
from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem  ten  lepers  met  Him,  standi 
ing  afar  off,  lifting  up  their  voices  and  pleading  for 
mercy.     With  characteristic  benignity  and  mercy.  He 
heals  them  all,  sending  them  away  to  the  priest,  to  re- 
ceive his  diagnosis  and  certificate,  ensuring  them  ad- 
mission to  the  synagogue  worehip.    While  the  ten  are  all 
healed,  only  one  turns  back,  shouts  jubilantly  and  testi- 
fies to  the  mighty  work.    "And  He  said  to  him;  having 
ari^n,  go;  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee."    Here  you  see  a 
confirmation  of  the  fact  that  the  Lord  heals  sinners  as 
well  as  saints.     This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the 
ten  were  all  healed,  whereas  only  one  got  saved.    How- 
ever, we  must  recognize  the  fact  that  the  sanctified  spir- 
it IS  the  normal  attitude  of  bodily  healing 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

JESUS  PREACHES  IN  JERUSALEM. 

The  Feast  of  Tabernacles  is  midway  when  Jesus  ar- 
rives on  Wednesday  to  the  unutterable  astonishment  of 
all,  as  He  had  declined  the  appeals  of  all  in  Galilee,  even 
of  His  brothers.  The  word  "Temple,"  occurring  so  fre- 
quently in  the  New  Testament,  not  only  included  the 
magnificent  edifice  built  by  King  Solomon,  but  many 
other  buildings,  great  and  costly,  besides  the  en- 
tire holy  Campus  lying  in  front  of  the  Tem- 
ple, and  stretching  out  to  the  east,  north  and  south, 
and  including  thirty-five  acres  of  beautiful  table  land 
on  the  summit  of  Mt.  Moriah.  In  this  hallowed  area, 
the  Jews  pitched  their  tents  in  w^hich  they  dwelt  dur- 
ing the  eight  days  occupied  by  the  holy  convocation. 
On  this  holy  Campus  in  the  open  air,  Jesus  preached 
his  glorious  gospel  to  the  spellbound  multitudes. 

VOLITION  IS  THE  CONDITION  OF  SPIRITUAL  ILLUMI- 
NATION. 

John  6:15-17.  "Then  Jesus  responded  to  them 
and  said.  My  teaching  is  not  mine,  but  of  Him  that 
sent  me;  if  anyone  may  will  to  do  His  will,  he  shall 
know  concerning  the  teaching  whether  it  is  of  God  or  I 
speak  for  myself."  The  E.  V.  in  this  strong  and  im- 
portant passage  is  quite  inadequate,  making  theli,  may 
will,  an  auxiliary  to  the  verb  translated  do;  whereas,  it 

180 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  loX 

is  the  independent  leading  verb  in  the  sentence;  set- 
ting forth  the  declaration  of  our  Lord;,  that  when  you 
actually  put  forth  volition  to  do  the  will  of  Grod,  He  will 
reveal  to  you  the  truth.  The  great  reason  why  so  few 
people  actually  know  the  truth  of  God,  is  because  they 
are  not  fully  committed  to  it.  In  that  case  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  grieved  with  the  proud  and  stubborn  heart,  and 
will  not  reveal  the  truth,  because  He  knows  it  would  be 
contemned.  This  explains  the  great  secret  of  sanctifica- 
tion;  so  many  saying  they  cannot  understand  it.  The 
real  difficulty  is  not  with  the  intellect,  but  with  the  heart. 
When  they  fully,  unreservedly  and  eternally  consecrate 
themselves  to  the  Lord,  settling  the  matter,  that  they 
will  do  His  will  if  right  hands,  feet,  and  eyes  all  come 
off,  and  they  lose  their  heads;  then  there  will  be  no 
trouble  about  understanding  it.  The  whole  matter  will 
be  elucidated  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  utmost  sim- 
plicity. 

Did  not  Moses  give  you  the  law?  And  no  one  of 
you  doeth  the  law.  Why  do  you  seek  to  kill  me?  The 
multitude  responded,  Thou  hast  a  demon  who  seeks  to 
kill  thee?  The  person  thus  responding  from  the  mul- 
titude did  not  know  that  they  were  actually  plotting  to 
kill  Him,  but  He  knew  it.  They  were  charging  Him  ve- 
hemently because  he  healed  people  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
alleging  that  this  was  a  violation.  As  the  law  of  Moses 
specified  that  Sabbath  breakers  should  be  stoned,  they 
were  doing  their  utmost  to  implicate  Him  in  the  penal- 
ty of  the  law  that  they  might  put  him  to  death.  "And 
many  of  the  multitude  believed  on  Him,  and  continued 
to  say,  When  Christ  may  come  will  He  do  more  miracles 
than  those  which  this  one  does?   The  Pharisees  heard 


j|^g2  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  multitude  S23eaking  these  things  concerning  Him, 
in  an  undei^tone^  and  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees  sent 
officers  that  they  should  arrest  Him.  Vs.  31-32.  .  .  , 
45-52  When  the  officers  came  to  the  chief  priests  and 
Pharisees  they  said  to  them,  Wherefore  did  not  you  lead 
him  along?  The  officers  responded,  Never  did  a  mun 
speak  as  this  man  is  speaking.  The  Pharisees  respond- 
ed to  them.  Whether  are  you  also  deceived,  whether  has 
either  one  of  the  rulers  or  Pharisees  believed  on  Him  ? 
But  this  multitude  not  knowing  the  law  are  accused. 
Nicodemus  says  to  them,  being  one  of  them,  Whether 
does  the  law  condemn  a  man  unless  it  may  first  hear 
concerning  him  and  know  what  he  doeth?  They  re- 
sponded and  said  to  him.  Whether  art  thou  also  from 
Galilee?  Search  and  see  tliat  no  prophet  rises  from 
Galilee."  A  prominent  attitude  of  fallen  ecclesiasticism. 
has  always  been  to  magnify  personality,  which  is  flatly 
contradictory  of  the  Scriptures,  which  assure  us,  that 
there  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 

Nicodemus  had  never  forgotten  his  nocturnal  in- 
terview with  Jesus  two  and  a  half  years  ago.  Though 
an  able  doctor  of  divinity  and  a  member  of  the  Sanhe- 
drim, he  ventures  to  vindicate  Jesus  in  the  midst  of  the 
tall  theologians  thirsting  for  His  blood;  recognizing 
this  affirmation  of  Jewish  criminal  law,  by  Nicodemus; 
you  readily  observe  that  Jesus  was  really  mobbed,  be- 
ing deprived  of  a  legal  trial.  Festus,  the  Roman  gov- 
ernor in  the  prosecution  of  Paul,  makes  the  same 
affirmation  in  reference  to  Roman  law.  Therefore,  you 
see  that  Jesus  was  murdered  defiantly  of  both  Jewish 
and  Roman  law.  Here  you  see  that  the  Sanhedrim, 
whose  hall  is  on  Mt.  Zio?i  in  the  west  end  of  the  city, 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusacetu.  183 

sent  their  official  cohort  to  the  Temple  Campus,  which 
is  in  the  east  end,  with  orders  to  arrest  Him  and  bring 
Him  before  them  for  trial.  After  much  delay  the 
guards  returned  without  Him,  having  made  a  signal 
failure.  As  He  had  six  months  of  His  ministry  not  yet 
fulfilled,  it  was  impossible  for  all  the  powers  of  earth 
and  hell  to  take  Him  prisoner.  The  moment  they  at- 
tempted to  lay  hands  on  Him,  an  indefinable  paralysis 
utterly  disqualified  them  to  touch  Him. 

HOLY  RIVERS  OP   LIVING  WATERS  FLQWINQ  OUT  OP 
THE  HEART. 

37-44  "And  in  the  last  great  day  of  the  feast  Jesus 
etood  and  continued  to  cry  out,  saying.  If  any  one  thirst, 
let  him  come  and  drink.  He  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the 
Scripture  said,  rivers  of  living  waters  shall  flow  out  of 
his  heart.''  He  spoke  this  concerning  the  Spirit,  whom 
those  believing  on  Him  were  about  to  receive;  for  the 
Spirit  was  not  yet,  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified; 
therefore,  those  from  the  multitude  hearing  those  words 
continued  to  say,  ^This  one  is  truly  the  prophet."  Others 
said,  "He  is  the  Christ" ;  others  said,  "For  whether  does 
Christ  come  out  of  Galilee  ?"  Did  not  the  Scrptures  say 
that  Christ  cometh  from  the  seed  of  David  and  from 
the  village  of  Bethlehem,  where  David  was?  Then  there 
was  a  division  in  the  multitude  on  account  of  him ;  and 
eertan  ones  there  wished  to  arrest  Him,  but  no  one  laid 
hands  on  Him.  Bethlehem  is  only  eight  miles  from  Je- 
rusalem. Hence  the  ignorance  of  the  people  was  re- 
markable, not  knowing  that  Jesus  was  really  born  there 
according  to  the  Scriptures  they  quoted.     The  mind  in- 


184  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

tuitively  wonders  why  Jesus  did  not  correct  this  mis- 
take on  the  part  of  His  account.  Oh^Chow  easily  at  this 
point  could  He  have  vindicated  Himself!  But  it  is 
pertinent  to  remember  that  He  was  not  here  for  self- 
vindication,  hut  to  preach  the  truth  and  atone  for  a  lost 
world.  The  Scripture  referred  to  in  V.  38,  is  Ez.  47 :1- 
12,  where  the  prophet  describes  the  holy  waters,  flowing 
out  from  the  Temple;  first  ankle  deep,  illustrating  your 
walk  with  God,  going  only  where  He  goes.  Then  he 
finds  them  knee  deep,  setting  forth  prayer  without  ceas- 
ing, as  the  knee  is  the  worshipping  joint.  Afterward,  he 
finds  them  loin  deep,  exhibitory  of  service  with  all  the 
power  of  body,  soul,  spirit  and  life.  Finally,  they  are 
a  swelling  river,  impassable,  broadening  and  deepening 
into  a  sea  without  bank  or  bottom,  thus  vividly  elucidat- 
ing that  final  sinking  into  God,  oblivious  to  all  transi- 
tory things,  which  is  the  normal  result  of  the  glorious 
experience  of  entire  sanctification,  involving  sin's  extir- 
pation by  the  cleansing  blood,  as  this  river  heads  at  the 
south  end  of  the  altar  where  all  the  blood  of  the  sacri- 
fice was  poured,  thus  manifesting  the  grand  negative 
experience  through  the  cleansing  blood ;  while  the  flow- 
ing waters  swelling  into  grander  magnitudes,  rising  into 
loftier  heights,  reaching  down  into  unfathomable 
depths,  and  broadening  into  swelling  seas,  pertinently 
s3Tnbolize  the  glorious  positive  side  of  the  sanctified  side 
of  experience;  which  unlike  the  negative,  definite  and 
complete  under  the  cleansing  blood,  is  inimitably  pro- 
gressive not  only  through  this  life,  but  on  through  tne 
flight  of  eternal  ages.  While  the  Holy  Ghost  has  been 
in  the  world  from  the  beginning,  Gen.  1,  Jesus  here  al- 
ludes to  His  personal  coming  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  185 

as  His  personal  successor,  the  Executive  of  the  Trinity, 
through  the  dispensation.  Jesus  gave  the  reason  why 
His  coming  in  the  capacity  of  Comforter  was  postponed 
till  after  the  crucifixion,  when  He  was  glorified.  The 
Holy  Ghost  comforts  us  through  the  medium  of  our  im- 
mortal intellects.  The  patriarchs,  prophets  and  Old 
Testament  saints  were  saved  by  faith  in  the  prophetic 
Christ,  looking  through  the  myriads  of  bleeding  birds 
and  beasts  on  Jewish  altars  slain,  down  through  the 
rolling  ages,  till  the  illuminated  eye  rested  on  the  Great 
Antit^^e  bleeding  and  dying  on  the  cross  of  Calvary; 
thus  making  a  complete  atonement  for  all  their  sins. 
Oh,  how  infinitely  easier  for  us  to  look  back  through  the 
centuries  of  indubitable  history  and  see,  by  faith,  the 
"Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.''' 
Jesus  three  times  over,  especially  and  distinctly  pre- 
dicted His  own  tragical  and  vicarious  dfeath,  repeatedly 
telling  the  people  that  He  would  return,  in  the  person 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  they  could  not  kill,  because 
He  had  no  mortal  body.  The  perfect  and  eternal  expia- 
tion wrought  on  Calvary,  swept  every  obstruction  out 
of  the  way  of  these  holy  waters,  coming  in  a  mighty 
swelling  river,  broadening  into  a  sea  and  inundating  the 
world.  It  is  pertinent  here  to  state  that  John  8 :1-11, 
giving  the  history  of  the  adulterous  woman  in  E.V.,  does 
not  appear  in  the  original.  Hence  it  is  an  interpola- 
tion, doubtless  brought  in  by  a  corrupt  clergy  in  the 
post-apostolic  ages  as  an  apology  for  sin. 

THE  GLORIOUS  LIBERTY. 

John  8 :30-36.  "He,  speaking  these  things,  many  be- 


186  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

lieved  on  Him.  Then  Jesus  said  to  the  Jews  having  be- 
lieved on  Him,  If  you  may  abide  in  my  word,  you  are 
truly  my  disciples,  and  you  shall  know  the  truth  and 
the  truth  shall  make  you  free.  They  responded  to  Him. 
We  are  the  seed  of  Abraham, we  have  never  been  in  bond- 
age to  anyone;  how  do  you  say  that  you  shall  be  free? 
Jesus  responded  to  them.  Truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  you, 
that  every  one  committing  sin,  is  the  slave  of  sin.  The 
slave  does  not  abide  in  the  house  forever ;  the  Son  abidi 
eth  forever;  therefore,  if  the  Son  may  make  you  free, 
you  shall  indeed  be  free."  In  this  discourse  He  address- 
es the  people  who  believed  on  Him  intellectually,  but 
not  spiritually.  I  trow  even  their  intellectual  faith  ter- 
minated with  the  apprehension  that  He  was  a  prophet; 
perhaps  a  few  in  His  audience  rising  to  the  higher  con- 
ception of  his  Christhood.  You  have  in  their  testimony 
a  vivid  illustration  of  that  spiritual  blindness,  which 
so  frequently  characterizes  preachers  and  people  occupy- 
ing prominent  positions  in  the  visible  church.  Here 
they  certify,  we  have  never  been  in  bondage  to  anyone, 
when  they  were  two  hundred  years  in  bondage  to  the 
Egyptians,  and  even  at  that  time  actually  in  bondage 
to  the  Eomans,  their  government  gone  and  ruled  over 
by  a  cruel  despotism.  In  conversion  you  are  made  free 
in  a  general  sense,  i.  e.,  free  from  the  condemnation 
of  the  violated  law,  and  the  service  of  the  devil ;  but  not 
free  from  the  carnal  mind,  which  wages  an  exterminat- 
ing war  against  you,  but  striving  constantly  to  bring  you 
into  bondage.  Sanctification  is  the  glorious  work  which 
makes  you  "free  indeed." 


Jesvs  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  187 

THE  WICKED,  THE  CHILDREN  OF  SATAN. 

37-59.  "I  know  that  you  are  the  seed  of  Abraham; 
but  you  seek  to  kill  me,  because  my  word  has  no  place  in 
you.  I  speak  those  things  which  I  have  seen  with  the 
Father;  moreover,  indeed  you  are  doing  those  things 
which  you  heard  of  your  father.  They  responded  and 
said  to  him :  Abraham  is  our  father.  Jesus  says  to  them, 
if  you  are  the  children  of  Abraham  you  would,  do  the 
works  of  Abraham ;  but  now  you  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man 
who  has  spoken  to  you  the  truth,  which  I  heard  with 
God ;  Abraham  did  not  this.  You  are  doing  the  works 
of  your  father.  They  said  to  him.  We  have  not  been 
born  of  fornication,  we  have  one  Father,  God.  And 
Jesus  said  to  them,  If  -God  were  your  Father  you  would 
love  me ;  for  I  came  out  from  God  and  I  go ;  for  I  have 
not  come  for  myself,  but  He  sent  me.  Wherefore  do  you 
not  know  my  speech?  Because  you  were  not  able  to 
hear  my  word.  You  are  of  your  father,  the  devil,  and 
you  wish  to  do  the  lust  of  your  father.  He  was  a  mur- 
derer in  the  beginning,  and  stood  not  in  the  truth,  be- 
cause there  is  no  truth  in  him." 

Divine  image  and  spiritual  life  were  lost  in  the  fall, 
and  regained  only  in  regeneration  and  made  perfect  in 
sanctification.  While  the  image  and  likeness  of  God 
were  spoliated  away  by  the  devel,  he  imparted  his  own 
corrupt  and  filthy  image  in  their  stead,  superseding  the 
mind  of  God  with  which  w^e  were  created,  by  the  carnal 
mind  which  is  enmity  toward  God,  for  it  is  not  sub- 
ject to  the  law  of  God ;  for  it  can  not  be,  Rom.  8 :7.  Je- 
sus looks  them  in  the  face  and  tells  them  they  do  not 
know  His  speech  because  they  are  not  able  to  hear  His 


I88  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

word,  while  His  words  were  that  moment  ringing  in  their 
ears.  The  solution  is  plain;  while  they  heard  with  true 
mortal  ears,  their  spiritual  ears  were  closed  and  deaf,  so 
they  could  not  hear  the  words  of  life.  A  dead  man  has 
ears  but  does  not  hear  anything.  Our  Savior's  audi- 
ence were  all  members  of  the  Jewish  church,  as  the  Gen- 
tile was  prohibited  from  entering  the  Temple  on  pain 
of  death.  The  priests,  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were 
listening  to  His  words;  yet  He  certifies  that  they  could 
not  hear  them. 

This  illustrates  the  absolute  necessity  of  divine  in- 
tervention. The  Holy  Ghost  must  come  and  open  tha 
ears  of  the  human  spirit,  before  they  can  ever  hear  and 
understand  spiritual  things.  What  a  wholesale  delusion 
and  bewilderment  pervades  the  church  and  the  world 
this  day  on  the  subject  of  the  divine  paternity.  Mul- 
titudes of  preachers  have  so  drifted  away  into  the 
heresies  of  Universalism,  that  they  are  preaching  the  di- 
vine paternity  of  the  wicked,  which  you  see  flatly  con- 
tradicts Jesus.  His  audience  was  not  uncircumcised 
heathens,  but  all  church  members;  yet  He  pronounces 
them  the  children  of  their  father,  the  devil.  Preachers 
habitually  stand  in  the  pulpit  and  address  their  audi- 
tors, as  the  children  of  God;  thus  helping  Satan  to  de- 
ceive them.  Oh,  how  important  it  is  to  preach  the  truth 
and  show  up  the  diabolical  paternity  in  case  of  all  the 
unregenerate !  The  supernatural  intervention  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  His  omnipotent  work  of  regeneration 
and  sanctification,  should  flame  in  heavenly  cyclonea 
from  every  pulpit.  The  Lord  continued  this  sermon 
till  He  told  them  He  had  seen  Abraham,  (which  was 
true  not  only  of  His  divinity,  but  also  of  His  humanity^ 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  189 

which  had  visited  Abraham  at  Mamre,  1900  years  before 
He  was  born  in  Behlehem) ;  also  certifying  His  existence 
before  Abraham  was  born.  This  brought  up  a  crisis,  so 
they  took  up  stones  to  smite  Him.  As  He  yet  had  six 
months  of  His  ministry  to  the  wicked  world  and  fallen 
churches,  the  divinity  relieved  the  humanity  by  render- 
ing Him  invisible,  so  He  passed  out  of  the  Temple  with 
impunity.  Lord,  help  us  to  preach  the  truth  so  faith- 
fully, that  we  shall  stir  unconverted  church  members  as 
Thou  didst! 

THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND. 

John  9.  Jesus  passing  along  sees  a  man  blind  from 
his  birth;  anoints  his  eyes  with  spittle  and  clay,  and 
sends  him  away  to  the  Pool  of  Siloam  to  wash.  He  re- 
turns floodled)  with  joy  over  his  newly  found  eyesight, 
perfectly  enraptured  with  the  gorgeous  light  of  day. 
which  had  never  before  shown  down  upon  his  sightless 
eyes.  Unutterably  glorious  is  the  transition  out  of  life- 
long midnight  into  the  sunburst  of  Palestinian  day. 
When  his  friends  interview  him  in  reference  to  the  won- 
derful miracle  of  which  he  is  the  happy  recipient, 
and  inquire  as  to  the  authorship,  he  says,  "I  know 
not."  Then  they  lead  him  to  the  Pharisees  who 
are  incredulous  with  reference  to  his  identity,  and  the 
report  that  he  was  born  blind.  When  they  find  his  par- 
ents and  they  testify  to  his  identity  and  blindness  from 
his  birth,  they  ask  them  who  performed  the  mira- 
cle, and  they  answer,  "We  know  that  he  was  our  son  and 
he  was  born  blind,  but  how  he  now  sees  we  know  not. 
Ask  him,  he  is  of  age,"  i.  e.,  30  years  old.  All  the  de- 
vices of  the  Pharisees  signally  fail  to  prevail  on  this 


190  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

man  to  indorse  their  condemnation  of  Jesus;  the  only 
allegation  which  they  were  able  to  bring  against  Him 
was  that  of  violatingthe  Sabbath.  The  reason  why  nearly 
every  miracle  here  put  to  record  was  on  the  Sabbath,  was 
not  because  He  did  not  perform  them  ever  and  anon  on 
other  da3'S,  but  because  the  enraged  clergy  had  put  their 
heads  together  to  get  up  a  case  of  condemnation  under 
the  law,  the  penalty  for  Sabbath-breaking  being  that  of 
death  by  stoning.  As  they  had  no  show  on  the  line  of 
any  other  charges,  theyi  made  Sabbath-breaking  and 
blasphemy  their  especial  rallying  point.  This  maa 
proved  inflexible  amid  all  their  caprices  and  devices  to 
run  him  into  entanglements  and  contradictions  and  to 
secure  his  acquiescence  and  endorsement  of  the 
charges  against  Jesus,  alleging  that  He  was  a  sinner  be- 
cause He  did  not  keep  the  Sabbath.  So  they  finally  cast 
him  out,  i.  e.,  excommunicate  him,  turn  him  out  of  the 
church.  Jesus  meets  him  again,  tells  him  that  he  is  the 
Son  of  Man,  i.  e.,  the  Christ,  and  proceeds  to  say  v.  39, 
"Unto  the  judgment  have  I  come  into  this  world,  in  or- 
der that  those  not  seeing  may  see,  and  those  seeing  may 
be  made  blind.  Those  of  the  Pharisees  being  with  him 
said  to  him.  Whether  are  we  blind?  Jesus  said  to  them 
If  you  were  blind  you  would  not  have  sin;  but  now  you 
say  that  we  see;  your  sin  abideth.^'  So  upon  the  inter- 
vention of  Christ  the  physically  blind  received  their 
sight  and  the  spiritually  blind  also  receive  the  light  of 
heavenly  day ;  while  those  seeing  are  made  blind. 

Before  Jesus  came,  many  among  the  Jews  were  walk 
ing  in  the  light  of  justification;  but  when  they  closed 
their  eye  to  the  brighter  light  which  Jesus  brought  into 
the  world,  the  light  they  had  enjoyed  under  the  law  and 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  \^-^ 

the  prophets  evanesced  away.  We  are  now  living  in  an 
age  of  judgment;  multiplied  thousands  enjoying  justi- 
fication lose  it  and  go  into  darkness  because  they  re- 
ject the  brighter  and  more  glorious  light  of  sanctifica- 
tion.  Jesus  is  everywhere  in  the  present  holiness  move- 
ment bringing  in  the  bright  and  beautiful  light  of  holi- 
ness of  the  Lord.  Thousands  walking  in  darkness  re- 
ceive the  light  and  rejoice  in  it;  while  many  who  have 
the  light  of  a  lower  dispensation,  like  the  Jews,  are  go- 
ing into  spiritual  darkness,  resting  in  dead  formality, 
because  they  reject  the  bright  and  glorious  light  of  en- 
tire sanctification. 

THE  SHEPHERD  AND  THE  SHEEP. 

John  10.  "Truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that 
Cometh  not  in  at  the  door  of  the  fold  of  the  sheep,  but 
climbeth  up  some  other  way,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  a 
robber;  he  that  cometh  in  through  the  door  is  the  shep- 
herd of  the  sheep.  To  him  the  porter  openeth  and  he 
calls  his  own  sheep  by  name  and  leadeth  them  out.  When 
he  may  take  out  all  his  own,  he  goeth  before  them,  the 
sheep  follow  him  because  they  know  his  voice ;  they  will 
not  follow  a  stranger,  but  they  will  fly  from  him,  because 
they  know  not  the  voice  of  the  strangers.  Jesus  spoke 
this  parable  unto  them;  and  they  did  not  know  what 
were  those  things  He  was  speaking  to  them.  Then  Je- 
sus said  "Truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  yon  I  am  the  door  of 
the  sheep.  All,  so  many  as  come,  are  thieves  and  rob- 
bers, but  the  sheep  do  not  hear  them.  I  am  the  door; 
if  anyone  may  come  in  through  me  he  will  be  saved,  he 
will  come  in  and  go  out  and  find  pasture/' 


192  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

I  used  to  hear  the  false  theology,  prominently 
preached  from  the  pulpit,  setting  forth  immersion  in 
water,  as  the  door  into  the  Kingdom.  You  see  here  that 
Jesus  Himself  is  the  door,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the 
porter,  i.  e.,  the  door  keeper.  Hence,  if  you  ever  get  in- 
to the  Savior's  fold,  you  must  say  "Yes"  to  the  Holy 
Ghost,  follow  his  leadership.  He  will  lead  you  to  the 
Good  Shepherd,  who  is  the  door  into  the  heavenly 
kingdom,  where  pardon,  peace  and  holiness  await  you. 
You  see  here  that  all  who  are  not  led  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  Christ,  and  through  Him  pass  into  the  fold,  are 
thieves  and  robbers.  Jesus  is  the  only  way,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  His  only  revelation.  You  observe  here 
that  the  Good  Shepherd  does  not  drive  His  sheep,  but  He 
leads  them. 

Of  this  I  was  constantly  reminded,  while  traveling  in 
the  Holy  Land.  I  saw  the  shepherds  everywhere  leadr 
ing  their  flocks,  and  the  sheep  following  them  like  dogs. 
It  is  wonderful  how  the  customs,  habits  and  events  of 
that  country  corroborate  the  word  of  the  Lord.  As 
they  have  no  fences,  all  stock  are  herded,  the  shepherd 
remaining  with  them  day  and  night ;  e.  g.,  if  a  man  has 
lost  some  of  his  flock  and  goes  to  his  neighbor  hunting 
them  the  latter  speaks  to  his  flock.  All  his  sheep  hear 
his  voice,  hold  up  their  heads  and  listen  to  what  he 
says ;  meanwhile  if  the  strays  are  in  the  flock,  they  graze 
on,  giving  no  attention.  Then  the  other  shepherd  speaks 
to  them,  and  if  those  that  did  not  hear  the  owner  of  the 
flock,  lift  up  their  heads  and  give  attention  to  him,  the 
former  turns  them  over  to  the  latter  and  he  takes  them 
away,  rejoicing  because  he  has  found  his  strays.  If  the 
Lord  is  our  Shepherd,  and  we  His  sheep.  He  has  a  right 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  193 

to  shear  us,  when  he  will  and  use  the  fleece  for  His  own 
benefit  He  also  has  a  right  to  make  mutton  of  His  own 
sheep  at  His  discretion.  Header,  it  means  much  to  be 
the  Lord's  sheep,  ready  at  all  times  for  the  shears  or  the 
sacrifice,  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  the  Good  Shepherd 
at  His  omniscient  and  infallible  discretion.  V.  10. 
"The  thief  cometh  that  he  may  steal,  may  kill  and 
destroy;  I  come  that  ye  may  have  life  and  may  have 
it  more  abundantly .''  We  receive  life  in  regeneration 
•and  the  more  abundant  life  in  sanctification.  V.  11. 
"I  am  the  good  Shepherd.'"  'The  good  shepherd  lays 
down  his  soul  for  the  sheep."  The  human  soul  of  Christ 
made  the  sacrifice  for  a  lost  and  ruined  world,  offering 
up  his  body,  the  bleeding  Lamb  of  Calvary,  on  the  al- 
tar of  the  divinity.'  V.  12.  "The  hireling  indeed  not 
being  the  shepherd  who  owns  the  sheep,  seeth  the 
wolf  coming,  leaveth  the  sheep  and  fleeth,  and  the  wolf 
seizeth  them  and  scattereth  them ;  because  he  is  an  hire- 
ling and  there  is  no  care  to  him  for  the  sheep." 

While  these  deliverances  of  our  Savior  clearly  sweep 
■^rom  the  field  all  unsaved  carnal  preachers,  who 
prosecute  their  ministry  actuated  by  selfish  motives,  as 
they  would  any  other  secular  pursuit,  involving  them  in 
the  charge  of  theft,  murder  and  destruction,  which  is  to 
be  understood  in  a  spiritual  sense;  e.  g.,  such  preachers 
steal  away  all  the  heavenly  hopes  of  their  auditors,  at 
the  same  time  murdering  them  soul  and  body,  and  de- 
stroying them  world  without  end.  There  is  also  a  still 
deeper  signification  of  these  terrible  denunciations  of 
the  hireling  shepherd;  i.  e.,  they  certainly  disqualify  all 
true  preachers  of  the  gospel  to  encourage,  or  even  recog- 
-^ize  a  salary  for  their  labors.     The  true  preacher  like 


194  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Paul,  says,  "I  want  not  yours,  but  you/'  He  willingly 
and  gladly,  like  his  great  Antitype,  wears  out  his  life 
and  lays  it  down  for  the  sheep.  V.  14.  "I  am  the  Grood 
Shepherd.  I  know  mine  and  mine  know  me,  as  the 
Father  knows  me  and  I  know  the  Father,  and  I  lay 
down  my  soul  for  the  sheep.''  We  live  in  the  midst  of 
universal  commotion.  The  holiness  movement  is 
girdling  the  globe  and  everywhere  throwing  the  ecclesi- 
astical elements  into  wild  commotion,  exposing  and 
revealing  the  counterfeit  shepherds,  producing  a  clamor- 
oas  bleating  among  the  sheep,  no  longer  content  with 
the  counterfeit  hireling  shepherds.  Oh,  what  a  univer- 
sal stir  and  excitement  among  the  Lord's  sheep,  as  the 
voice  of  the  true  shepherd  reverberates  from  every  siky 
bringing  cavil  and  confusion  into  the  ranks  of  the  world- 
ly ecclesiasticisms ;  as  the  Lord's  true  sheep  are  every- 
where receiving  light  and  diagnosing  the  counterfeit 
shepherds  who  have  deluded  them,  permitting  the  wolf 
to  invade  and  play  sad  havoc.  John  tells  us  here  that 
this  sermon  of  our  Lord  produced  a  great  excitement, 
resulting  in  a  division  among  the  Jews;  many  of  them 
certifying,  ^'He  hath  a  demon  and  is  gone  mad !"  w'hile 
others  respond,  '^These  are  not  the  wx>rds  of  a  demonized 
man;  whether  is  a  demon  able  to  open  the  eyes  of  the 
blind?"  The  regular  allegations  m^ade  against  Jesus, 
were  ''He  hath  a  demon.  He  is  beside  himself.  He  is 
gone  mad."  If  you  would  be  His  follower,  look  out  for 
the  cognomens,  which  they  applied  to  Him.  The  world 
has  not  changed;  neither  is  it  more  tolerant  of  purity 
and  holiness  now  than  in  the  days  of  Christ.  When  the 
gospel  ceases  to  arouse  the  animosity  of  hypocrites  and 
carn'al  professors,  the  dyniamite  has  all  evanesced:  life 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem,  195 

is  gone  and  it  is  a  loathsome  corpse.  Vs.  20-22.  "It 
was  the  feast  of  dedication  in  Jerusalem,  it  was  winter ; 
and  Jesus  was  walking  in  the  Temple,  in  the  porch  of 
Solomon."  I  used  to  think  Solomon's  porch  was  a  pro- 
jection from  the  Temple  edifice.  This  is  a  mistake.  It 
was  a  separate  building,about  six  hundred  yards  from  the 
Temple,  near  the  beautiful  gate  which  enters  through 
the  east  wall  of  the  city  and  the  campus.  It  is  there 
today,  though  somewhat  in  ruin.  This  feast  of  the 
dedication  is  said  to  have  been  about  Dec.  25,  commem- 
orative of  the  dedication  of  the  Temple,after  the  Syrians 
under  Antiochus  had  occupied  it  three  years  and  polluted 
it  -with  the  worship  of  idols;  the  Jews,  after  long  and 
bloody  wars,  gallantly  led  by  the  heroic  Maccabees,  hav- 
ing signally  triumphed  over  them  and  regained  their  in- 
d-ependence.  V.  26.  "But  you  do  not  believe,  because 
you  are  not  of  my  sheep.  My  sheep  hear  my  voice  and 
I  know  them,  and  they  follow  me,  and  I  give  unto  them 
eternal  life  and  they  shall  never  perish,  and  no  one  shall 
pluck  them  out  of  my  hand.  The  Father  who  gave  them 
to  me  is  greater  than  all,  and  no  one  is  able  to  pluck 
them  out  of  my  hand."  The  preaching  of  our  Savior, 
in  this  memorable  sermon  on  the  shepherd  and  sheep,  is 
miuch  appreciated  by  Christians  adhering  to  the  Calvan- 
istic  theology.  While  it  would  seem  to  a  superficial 
reader  to  establish  indubitably  the  final  perseverance 
of  the  saints  yet  there  is  not  in  it  so  much  as  an  insinu- 
ation against  the  absolute  and  untrammeled  free  agency 
of  all  men.  The  vast  audience  listening  to  Jesus  were  all 
church  members,  3'et  he  affirms  ^they  are  not  of  his  sheep,' 
involving,  at  least,  an  awful  suspicion  that  we  live  amid 
the  repetition  of  similar  events  and  environments  deter- 


196  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles 

minative  of  human  destiny.  Neither  the  preachers  nor 
tiie  people  hearing  the  Savior  at  that  time  were  His 
sheep.  They  were  counterfeits  and  reprobates,  hastening 
to  an  awful  doom  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
which  was  but  a  prelude  of  eternal  retribution.  When 
Jesus,  looking  them  in  the  face,  delivered  these  awful 
truths,  which  excluded  them  from  the  kingdom  of  grace 
and  glory,  they  became  so  enraged  that  they  again  pro- 
ceeded to  stone  Him,  having  tlie  double  charge  of  Sab- 
bath breaking  and  blasphemy  arrayed  against  Him, 
whose  punishment  in  the  law  of  Moses,  was  death  by 
stoning.  They  decided  that  His  claim  to  be  the  Son  of 
God  was  blasphemy;  while  His  innumerable  works  of 
mercy  on  the  Sabbath  involved  Him  in  the  crime  of  its 
desecration.  Feeling  amply  sustained  by  the  law  in  the 
infliction  of  capital  punishment;  they  were  determined 
to  make  short  work  of  the  trouble,  which  had  been  an 
eating  cancer  on  tlie  'body  ecclesiastic,  more  than  two 
and  a  half  years.  As  His  time  to  preach  the  gospel  and 
corroborate  it  by  His  miracles  had  not  yet  expired.  He 
departed  out  of  Jerusalem,  traveling  away  to  the  north- 
east, crossing  the  Jordan  and  stopping  in  Bethany  Per- 
ea,  where  John  had  spent  some  time  preaching  and 
baptizing.  Thither  the  people  rallied  to  Him,  many  be- 
lieving on  Him. 

The  moment  we  follow  Him  out  of  Jerusalem, 
we  see  a  great  difference  in  the  appreciation 
of  the  peoj)le,  arising,  obviously,  from  the  awful, 
sinister  influence  of  the  higher  clergy,  in  Jerusalem, 
who  had  crystalized  against  Him,  settling  down  in  a 
unanimous  determination  to  kill  Him. 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  197 

THE  RESURRECTI02T  OF  LAZARUS. 

Jo'lm,  11.  In  an  'bumble  cottage  at  Bethany,  a  lovely 
suburban  village  on  the  south-east  slopes  of  Mt.  Olivet, 
fifteen  furlongs  from  Jerusalem,  there  lived  an  amiable 
family  of  humble,  godly  people.  Contemporary  history 
certifies  that  they  were  related  to  Jesus  by  the  ties  of 
consanguinity.  Certain  it  is  that  they  were  mutually  de- 
lighted with  His  frequent  visits.  The  orphan  children, 
Mary,  Martha  and  Lazarus,  constituted  the  family,  sup- 
ported by  the  latter,in  the  laborious  work  of  transcribing 
the  Old  Testament  scriptures;  as  that  was  the  only  way 
the  Word  of  the  Lord,  at  that  time,  could  be  multiplied. 
A  short  time  after  the  departure  of  Jesus,  Lazarus  was 
taken  sick,  as  history  says,  of  fever,  such  as  they  call 
typhoid  in  this  countr)^,but  in  that,  well  known  this  day, 
as  the  Syrian  fever.  As  he  grew  worse  and  worse,  the  dis- 
ease defying  all  remedies  and  challenging  the  skill  of  the 
physicians,  till  he  burned  as  in  a  furnace,  the  loving  sis- 
ters, terribly  alarmed,  eventually  concluded  there  was  no 
hope  but  to  bring  Jesus  thither  that  He  might  heal  him. 
This  they  much  regretted  to  do,  as  they  knew,  to  their 
sorrow,  that  the  people  instigated  by  the  priests,  were  in 
the  act  of  stoning  Him,  a  few  days  previously.  Eut  ren- 
dering Himself  invisible,passing  out  of  their  hands.  He 
had  left  the  city  and  gone  far  away  to  Bethany  Perea,  to 
save  His  life  from  the  infuriated  mob.  Therefore,  they 
hesitated  still,  hoping  to  see  a  change  for  the  better.  "  In 
this  they  were  disappointed,  the  change  by  night  and 
day  being  only  for  the  worse;  till,  in  utter  desperation 


198  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

of  -all  medical  aid,they  called  a  messenger  and  dispatched 
bim  with  all  possible  expedition  to  call  Jesus;  saying 
to  Him  "Behold,  he  whom  thon  lovest,  is  sick/^  V.  4.  Je- 
sus^hearing,  said ,  this  sickness  is  not  unto  death,  but  for 
the  glory  of  God>  that  the  Son  of  God  may  be  glorified 
through  it/'  Meanwhile,  the  fever  is  so  awfully  malig- 
nant that  Lazarus  actually  dies  some  time  before  the 
messenger  reaches  Jesus.  After  receiving  the  news  of 
his  sickness,  Jesus  remains  two  days,  when  he  announces 
to  His  disciples,  V.  11,  ^'Our  friend,  Lazarus^  has  gone 
to  sleep;  but  I  go  that  I  m'ay  awaken  him/'  The  disci- 
ples thinking  that  He  means  physical  sleep,  receive  it  as 
encouraging  news,  'ominous  of  his  convalescence;  when 
Jesus  corrects  their  mistake,  notifying  them  positively 
that  he  is  dead,  and  expressing  His  determination  to  go 
to  him,  when  the  disciples  remind  Him  of  the  danger 
from  which  He  had  so  recently  fled;  and,  Y.  16;  Thomas 
said  to  his  comrades,"Let  us  go,that  we  may  also  die  with 
Him;"  inferential  of  the  fact  that  they  were  about  to 
kill  Him  a  few  days  ago  when  He  was  there,  and  if  He 
went  back,  they  would  certainly  stone  Him  to  death. 
Thomas  was  the  doubter  till  the  fires  of  Pentecost  burnt 
his  doubts  up.  Consequently  he  always  took  the  blue  side 
of  everything,  antithetical  to  Peter,  who  always  took  the 
bright  side.  Consequently  Thomas  says,  "Let  us  go  along 
and  dies  with  Him";  i.  e.,  they  will  kill  Jesus  and  us  too. 
if  we  go;  but  let  us  go,  be  true  to  Him,  and  die  with 
Him.  By  the  time  they  arrive  at  Bethany,  Lazarus  has 
been  dead  four  days.  (I  entered  his  tomb  during  both 
my  tours  in  that  country).  Of  course  putrefaction 
in  that  hot  climate  progresses  very  rapidly.  Meanwhile 
the  Jewish  mourners,  pursuant  to     their     custom  to 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  199 

mourn  for  the  dead  seven  days,  are  surprised  to  find  the 
sisters  and  especially  Mary,  looking  for  Jesus,  and  even 
enthused  with  the  hope  that  He  will  raise  their  brother 
from  the  dead.  As  the  sun  peers  above  Mt.  Pisgah  and 
wraps  great  Mt  Olivet  in  the  splendor  of  his  oriental 
beauty  suddenly  a  man  comes  running  to  the  house  of 
mourning,  notifying  them  that  Jesus  has  arrived  and  is 
now  with  His  disciples,  halting  a  moment  at  Jeremiah's 
fountain  in  the  suburbs  and  drinking  some  water  and 
washing  the  sands  from  their  feet  Martha  instan- 
taneously met  Him,  falling  at  His  feet  saying: 
*'If  thou  'hadst  'been  here  my  brother  had  not 
died  and  I  know  that  whatsoever  you  ask  God,  God  will 
give  to  you/' 

Jesus  says  to  her;  ^^Thy  brother  shall  rise  again." 
Martha  says  to  Him;  "I  know  he  shall  rise  again 
in  the  resurrection  in  the  last  day.  For  Jesus  says, 
I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life;  and  he  that  be- 
lieveth  on  me  though  he  may  die,shall  live ;  and  everyone 
living  and  believing  on  me  can  never  die,''  V.  20-26. 
Now  when  Jesus  astounds  Martha  with  these  wonderful 
declarations  and  sends  her  to  call  her  sister,  who 
through  courtesy  to  the  mourners,  had  remained  in  the 
house,  instantaneously  she  leaps;  meets  Jesus  still 
lingering  on  the  spot  where  Mari;ha  met  Him, 
and  falling  at  His  feet,  ejaculating,  "Lord,  if 
thou  hadst  been  here  my  brother  had  not  died." 
The  words  Jesus  had  spoken  to  Martha  had  already 
thrilled  the  heart  of  Mary  with  burning  enthusiasm,  till 
standing  upright  before  Him  she  pulled  Him  by  the 
sleeve  of  his  robe  in  the  direction  of  the  sepulchre. 

Since  the  arrival  of  Jesus  in  one  short  hour,  the  news 


200  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

had  flown/  on  the  wings  of  the  wind^  till  all  Bethany  was 
astir  and  the  people  trooping  down  the  slopes  of  Mt. 
Olivet  and  up  from  the  ravines  and  valleys  and  pouring 
in  from  the  hills,  till  a  swelling  multitude  who  had  run 
themselves  out  of  breath,  once  more  gazed  upon  the  face 
of  the  wonderful  Galilean  Prophet,  who  raised  the  wid- 
ow's son  at  Nain,  and  spoke  the  daughter  of  Jairus  into 
life,  wondering  and  conjecturing  what  was  going  to  hap- 
pen. Even  a  caravan  on  its  way  from  Idumea  to  Egypt 
was  'arrested  by  the  commotion  and  halted  to  see  the  end. 
V.  34.  He  groaned  in  spirit  and  troubled  himself  and 
said,  "Where  have  you  placed  him?''  They  say  to  him^ 
"Lord,come  and  see."  Jesus  wept.  Here  we  see  a  most 
vidid  contrast  between  the  humanity  and  the  divinity, the 
former  with  heart-broken  tenderness,  giving  way  to 
gushing  tears;  while  the  latter  rising  in  the  majesty  of 
omnipotence,  proceeds  to  raise  him  from  the  dead. 
While  they  are  journeying  1^  the  tomb,  which  is  a  cav- 
ernous ex?cavatiion:  in  the  base  of  Mt.  Olivet,  Martha 
observes,  "Lord,  already  he  smelleth."  Having  advanced 
within  a  few  paces,  Jesus  halted  the  procession  and  gave 
praise  to  His  father  for  the  omnipotent  intervention ;  al- 
leging as  a  reason,  'in  order  that  the  people  may  believe 
that  thou  hast  sent  me.^  N"ow  Heordersthe  strong  men  to 
take  away  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre.  No 
sooner  is  it  moved  than  an  awful  gust  of  putre- 
scent odor  pours  out,  so  impregnating  the  air  as  to  cause 
the  multitude  to  retreat  a  number  of  paces;  mean- 
while the  daylight  superseding  the  darkness  in  the  sep- 
ulchre reveals  the  body,  lying  on  the  stone  slab,  the 
grave  clothes  darkened  by  the  putrefaction,  V.  43.  Now 
Jesus  speaks  with  a  voice  that  shakes  great  Mt.  Olivet, 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  201 

"Lazarus,  come  forth  V  The  dead  man  came  out  bound 
as  to  his  feet  and)  his  hands,  with  grave  clothes,  and  his 
face  was  wrapped  about  with  a  napkin,  Jesus  says  to 
them;  "Loose  him'  and  let  him  go  V  Responsive  to  the 
stentorian  call  of  Jesus,the  soul  of  Lararus,  leaving  his 
happy  retreat  in  Abraham's  bosom,  comes  back,  re-en- 
ters his  body  and  animates  it  once  more.  Meanwhile  the 
people  see  the  corpse  rise,  and  walk  out  of  the  tomb, 
causing  a  great  panic  and  unutterable  affright.  Then 
Jesus  says,"Loo6e  him  and  lethim  go  V  speaking  to  those 
strong  men,  who  had  rolled  away  the  stone.  But  what 
can  they  do,  panic  stricken  and  prostrate  on  the  ground 
with  dismay  affright  ?  History  says  Mary  was  the  first 
one  to  proceed  to  un-pin  and  remove  the  napkin  from 
his  face,  Martha  falling  in  and  helping  her.  Now  when 
the  multitude  saw  that  he  was  actually  alive  and  no  mis- 
take about  it,  recovering  from  their  panic,  they  raised  a 
tremendous  shout  which  was  heard  in  Jerusalem,  fifteen 
furlongs  distant:  "Glory  to  the  God  of  Israel,  who  has 
raised  up  a  prophet  in  our  midst,  who  has  power  to 
speak  the  dead  ino  life  again !" 

Meanwhile  -so  many  believed  Him  and  fell  on  the 
ground  in  adoring  worship  on  all  sides  that  the  way  was 
actually  blockaded.  The  effect  of  this  miracle  was  over- 
whelming and  tremendous.  Elijah  and  Elisha  had 
raised  the  dead;  but  never  had  a  case  been  known  in 
which  the  person  had  been  dead  so  long  as  Lararus  was. 
While  hosts  believed  on  Jesus  under  the  influence  of  this 
stupendous  miracle,  others  went  away  and  told  the 
Pharisees. 

We  have  in  this  mighty  work  of  Jesus,  a  vivid,  lucid 
and  powerful  symbolism  of  the  redemptive  scheme;  the 


202  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

resurrection  of  the  -diead  Lazarus  t}^ifying  regeneration, 
which  is  the  resurrection  of  a  human  spirit  from  the 
dead ;  while  the  removal  of  the  grave  clothes,  beautifully 
and  forcibly emblemizes  sanctification, which  is  the  inher- 
ent principle  of  full  spiritual  libert}^,  free  from  all  the 
fetters,  chains  andi  bandiages,  bound  on  the  soul  by  in- 
bred sin. 

Such  was  the  result  of  the  terrible  commotion  among 
the  high  priests  and  Pharisees,  that  they  at  once  conven- 
ed the  Sanhedrim  and  there  delivered  flaming  speeches. 
V.  47.  "What  shall  we  do  because  this  man  is  doing 
many  miracles?  If  we  thus  let  him  alone  all  will  be- 
lieve on  him,  and  the  Romans  will  come  and  take  away 
our  place  and  nation.^^  This  actually  did  transpire. 
The  Romans  did  come  and  destroyed  their  city  and  na- 
tion. Amid  the  excited  speeches  in  the  Sanhedrim,  the 
spirit  of  prophecy  came  on  Caia'phas,  Hhe  high  priest,  so 
that  he  boldly  predicted ;  Y.  49,  'You  know  not  anything, 
neither  do  you  consider  that  it  behooves  you  that  one 
man  may  die  for  the  people  and  not  that  the  whole  na- 
tion shall  perish.^'  That  was  a  true  prophecy,  literally 
fulfilled  in  the  expiatory  death  of  Jesus,  an  illustrative 
case  of  the  significant  fact  that  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  not  confined  to  the  sanctified,  nor  even  to  the 
regenerated.  The  case  is  very  clear  that  Caiaphas,  the 
chief  priest,  was  actually  demoniacally  possessed,  led 
by  the  devil  and  doing  his  work.  Yet  we  see  that  God 
put  His  hand  on  him  and  used  him  to  utter  a  true 
prophecy.  The  final  verrfiict  of  the  Sanhedrim  on  this 
occasion  was  that  they  would  kill  Jesus  as  quickly  as 
possible.  Therefore,  Jesus  again  left  the  country,  ac- 
companied by  His  disciples,  of  whom  Lazarus  was  one; 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Jerusalem.  203 

going  out  north  into  the  city  Ephraim,  where  He  spent 
a  short  time  with  His  disciples;  then  journeying  on 
north-east,  crossing  over  Jordan  into  Berea,  the  country 
originally  given  to  the  two  and  one-half  tribes,  Reuben, 
Gad  and  Manasseh,  -where  He  sojourned  a  dozen  days, 
preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  to  the  vast  multi- 
tudes who  crowded  en  His  track,  hanging  spellbound  on 
His  eloquent  lips,  thrilled  and  elated  not  only  by  His 
wonderful  preaching,  but  His  stupendous  miracles. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

JESUS  PREACHES  IN  PEREA. 

Luke  13 :10-21.  "Jesus  was  preaching  in  one  of  the 
synagogues  on  the  Sabbath.  Behold  a  woman  having  a 
spirit  of  infirmity  eighteen  years,  who  w"as  bent  over 
and  was  not  able  entirely  to  straighten  up.  Jesus  see- 
ing her  called  to  her  and  said,  "Woman,thou  art  released, 
from  thy  infirmity;''  andi  He  put  His  hands  on  her,  and 
immediately  she  straightened  up  and  continued  to  glo- 
rify God.  But  the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  being 
grieved  because  Jesus  healed  on  the  Sabbath,  said  to  the 
multitude,  "There  are  six,  days  in  which  it  behooveth  us 
to  work ;  therefore  coming  in  these,  1)6  healed,  but  not  on 
the  Sabbath  day.  But  the  Lord  responded  to  him  and 
said ;  "Ye  hypocrites,doth  not  one  of  you  loose  your  ox  or 
donkey  from  the  stall,  and  leading  him  away  give 
him  water  on  the  Sabbath?  But  this  woman  being  a 
daughter  of  Abraham  whom  Satan  bound,  lo,  these  eigh- 
teen years,  did  it  not  behoove  that  she  should  be  loosed 
from  this  bondage  on  the  Sabbath  day?"  He  speaking 
these  things,  all  those  opposing  Him  were  overwhelmed 
with  shame,  and  the  whole  multitude  continued  to  re- 
joice over  all  the  glorious  things  which  were  done  by 
him. 

The  prominent  characteristic  of  dead  religions  in  all 
ages  has  been  to  get  exceedingly  particular,  and  even 
tyrannical,  proscriptive  and  condemnatory  about  non- 
essentials.    Hence,  you  see  they  hounded  Jesus  night 

204 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea.  205 

and  day  with  the  charge  of  Sabbath  breaking  because 
He  performed  his  miracles  on  that  day  as  well  as  oth- 
ers. We  live  in  an  age  of  compromise.  Jesus  did  not 
make  any.  By  so  doing  He  might  have  saved  His  life. 
He  stuck  to  truth  and  duty,  refusing  to  flicker  an  iota. 
The  result  was  He  lost  His  life.  So  if  we  are  true,  in- 
flexible, and  make  no  compromise,  we  are  bound  to 
lose  our  carnal  lives;  whereas,  deflexion  from  the 
straight  line  of  truth  and  duty  would  certainly  forfeit 
spiritual  life. 

THE  NARROW  WAY.    ■ 

V.  23.  "And  one  said  to  Him,Lord,are  the  saved  few? 
And  He  said  to  them,  "Strive  to  enter  in  through  the 
narrow  gate,  because  many,  I  say  unto  you,  will  seek  to 
enter  in  and  will  not  be  able.^'  Here  we  see  the  reason 
why  so  few  people  are  saved.  It  is  not  because  they  do 
not  desire  salvation  and  even  seek  after  it.  The  desire 
to  be  saved  and  some  sort  of  an  effort  in  that  direction 
are  peculiar  to  immortal  intelligences  in  every  age  and 
nation.  Here  the  Savior  tells  the  secret  why  the  saved 
are  few ;  it  is  because  the  way  is  so  narrow  and  the  peo- 
ple do  not  agonize  to  enter  the  way  and  walk  in  it. 
Agonize  is  really  a  Greek  word  agoonizesthe,  slightly 
anglicized  and  adopted  into  the  English  language.  It 
is  a  very  strong  word :  agona,  the  arena  in  the  (Coliseum 
in  Rome  where  the  gladiators  fought  for  life,  the  con- 
flict always  ending  in  the  death  of  one  or  both  of  the  com- 
batants. You  know  the  gladiator  fought  with  all  the 
conceivable  power  of  body,  mind  and  spirit.  The  reason 
why  so  few  are  saved  is  not  that  grace  is  not  free  for 
all,  and  God  is  willing  and  anxious  to  save  all,  but  so 


206  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

few  seek  with  all  the  heart.  ''In  the  day  in  which  thou 
seekest  me  in  thy  whole  heart,  I  will  he  found  of  thee/' 
The  heart  is  your  immortal  self,  which  occupies  the 
whole  body.  V.  28.  "And  there  shall  be  weeping  and 
gnasihing  of  teeth  when  ye  shall  see  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob  and  all  the  prophets  in  the  Kingdom  of  God 
and  ye  are  cast  out.  "They  shall  come  from  the  east,  the 
west,  the  north  and  the  south,  'and  shall  eit  down  in  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  Behold  the  last  shall  be  first,  and 
the  first  shall  be  last." 

This  mournful  affirmation  of  Jesus  not  only  applied 
to  the  Jews,  who  rejected  Him  and  were  cast  out,  while 
millions  of  Gentiles  came  from  the  end©  of  the  earth, 
and  took  their  places  in  the  kingdom  along  with  Abra- 
ham, Isaac  and  Jacob;  but  also  equally  and  pertinently 
does  it  apply  to  the  unspiritual  worldly  churches  of  the 
present  day,  whose  children  are  rushing  by  millions 
through  the  devil's  frolics  down  to  hell.  Likewise  many 
in  heathen  lands  responsive  to  the  trumpet  calls  of  the 
missionary,  are  pouring  into  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
taking  their  places  with  the  patriarchs  and  prophets.  The 
Jews,  who  were  first  to  receive  the  kingdom,  but  cast  out 
for  rejecting  it,  will  be  the  last  harvest  gathered  by 
the  gospel  reapers.  The  universal  stir  among  the  chil- 
dren of  Abraham  at  this  day,  and  their  rapid  gathering 
into  the  holy  land  are  thrillingly  ominous  of  the  Lord's 
near  approach. 

AN  ATTEMPT  TO  SCARE  JESUS  OUT  OF  PEREA. 

V :  31-34.   The  Pharisees  now  come  to  Him  and  tell 
Him  that  Herod  is  going  to  kill  Him.    To  an  ordinary 


■Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea.  ^07 

man  this  would  have  been  very  alarming,  especially  as 
Herod  had  so  recently  killed  John  the  Baptist.  The 
case  is  very  clear  that  it  was  a  stratagem  on  the  part  of 
the  Pharisees  to  get  rid  of  Him.  When  He  was  on 
trial  in  Jerusalem,  only  a  few  days  after  this,  Herod  had 
a  chance  to  kill  Him,  if  he  had  been  so  disposed.  H« 
was  exceedingly  unwilling  to  kill  John  the  Baptist,  but 
felt  constrained  by  state  policy,  to  do  so,  in  order  that  he 
might  sustain  his  honor  among  his  magnates.  The  fo« 
is  notorious  for  cunning,  dishonesty  and  theft.  Hence, 
the  pertinency  on  the  part  of  Jesus  in  calling  Herod  a 
fox,  V.  32.  This  threat  brings  to  His  mind  the  awful 
tragedy,  rascality,  blood  and  death,  destined  so  soon  to 
take  place  at  Jerusalem.  Hence  His  mournful  wail,  V. 
35,  "Behold  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate."  This 
prophecy  is  signally  verified  in  the  awful  Jewish  trib- 
ulations, A.  D.  66-73 ;  seven  awful  years  of  desolation, 
blood,  death  and  captivity,  winding  up  not  only  witb  the 
devastation  of  the  land,  but  the  annihilation  of  the  Jew- 
ish polity.  Jesus  now  accepts  an  invitation  to  dine  with 
one  of  the  rulers  of  the  Pharisees  on  the  Sabbath.  A  poor 
victim  of  dropsy  is  present.  Critical  eyes  are  turned  on 
Him  to  see  whether  He  will  heal  him  on  the  Sabbath. 
True  to  the  work  of  love,  for  which  He  came  into  the 
world.  He  takes  the  poor  sufferer  and  heals  him,  despite 
the  clamor  of  His  critics,  responding.  Which  one  of 
you  shall  have  an  ass  or  an  ox  fall  into  a  pit  and  will  not 
immediately  lift  him  out  on  the  Sabbath  day?" 

HE  CONDEMNS  AMBITION. 

Ch.  14,  V.  17.  Warning  them  against  th-e  temptation 


208  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

to  take  the  most  prominent  seat,  when  invited  to  a  fes- 
tival ;  assuring  them  "that  every  one  that  exalteth  him- 
self shall  be  abased  and  every  one  that  hiimbleth  himself 
shall  be  exalted/' 

How  this  deliverance  of  the  Infallible  should  stand 
as  a  break-water  against  ministerial  ambition,  so  obvi- 
ously destructive  of  usefulness  and  grievous  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  at  the  present  day !  many  a  preacher  maneuvering 
to  secure  the  most  prominent  place.  Here  He  warns 
the  man  who  invited  Him,  saying,  V.  12,  When  thou 
makest  a  dinner  or  supper,  do  not  call  your  rich  friends, 
brotliers,  relatives  or  neighbors,  lest  they  may  invite  thee 
in  turn,  and  there  may  be  a  recompense  to  thee.  But 
when  thou  makest  a  feast,  invite  the  poor,  maimed, 
halt,  blind  and  thou  shalt  be  happy  because  they  have 
nothing  to  give  thee  in  turn;  and  it  shall  be  recom- 
pensed to  thee  in  the  resurrection  of  the  just/'  Oh,  how 
few  obey  this  commandment  of  the  Savior !  On  the  con- 
trary, perhaps  ninety-nine  hundredths  who  claim  to  be 
His  followers,  openly  antagonize  this  commandment,  by 
inviting  the  rich  and  neglecting  the  poor;  thus  secur- 
ing their  reward  in  this  world,  i.  e.,  a  reciprocation  of 
the  invitation;  and  forfeiting  the  great,  everlasting  re- 
ward: i.  e.,  the  Lord's  recompense  in  the  resurrection 
of  the  just. 

THE  MARRIAGE  SUPPER. 

15-24.  ^'Andi  a  certaiu  man  made  a  great 
supper,  and  invited  many:  and  ©ent  his  ser- 
vant at  the  hour  of  supper  to  say  to  those  who  had 
been  invited,  ^Come,  because  all  things  are  now  ready, 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea,  209 

and  they  all  began  of  one  accord  to  make  excuse.  The  first 
said  to  Mm,  I  have  bought  a  field,  and  I  must  needs 
go  out  to  see  it;  I  entreat  thee  have  me  excused. 
Another  said,  I  have  bought  five  yoke  of  oxen  and  I 
go  to  prove  them ;  I  entreat  thee  have  me  excused.  And 
another  said,  I  have  married  a  wife  and  on  this  account 
I  am  not  able  to  come.  And  the  -servant  coming  to  his 
lord  announced  these  things.  Then  the  landlord  being 
angry.said  to  his  servant,  ^Go  out  quickly  into  the  sitreets 
and  lanes  of  the  city,  and  lead  hither  the  poor,  the 
maimed,  the  blind  and  the  halt.  And  the  servant  said  i 
Lord,it  is  done  as  you  commanded  and  yet  there  is  room.' 
And  the  lord  said  to  the  servant,  ^Oo  out  into  the  high- 
ways and  the  hedges  and  compel  them  to  come  in,  that 
my  house  may  be  filled.  For  I  say  unto  you  that  none  of 
those  men  who  have  been  invited  shall  taste  of  my  sup- 
per.^ '' 

Heaven  is  described  as  a  place  of  perpetual  festivity 
and  felicity ;  i.  e.,  ever  and  anon  through  the  Bible,  un- 
der the  similitude  of  a  sumptuous  wedding  festival, 
filled  and  thrilled  with  mingled  joy  and  ineffable  bliss. 
Every  participant  of  redeeming  grace  from  Abel  down, 
has  received!  a  prelibation  of  this  heavenly  festival  in 
his  heart.  Wlien  Jesus  came  on  the  earth  the  first 
time.  He  brought  with  Him  the  kingdom  of  grace ;  i.  e., 
righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  (Rom. 
14:7.)  When  He  comes  the  second  time.  He  will  take 
up  His  saints  to  the  glorious  wedding  feast  in  Heaven, 
where  the  final  solemnization  of  the  glorious  nuptials  of 
the  triumphant  Christ  and  His  transfigured  bride  will 
climax  the  redemptive  scheme  with  glory  and  honor, 
eliciting  the  admiration  of  angels  and  archangels,  filling 


210  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

heaven  and  the  universe  with  their  congratulatory  an- 
thems and  the  enrapturing  melodies  of  their  golden 
harps.    Thus  the  two  advents  of  Christ  into  the  world 
constitute  the  grand,  salient  culminations  of  the  glorious 
wedlock,  identifying  the  redeemed  eternally  with  the 
Lord.     The  old  prophets  rang  out  this  glorious  invita- 
tion from  the  day  of  Abel  and  Enoch,  down  to  the  com- 
ing of  John  the  Baptist,  who  was  the  servant  the  Lord 
sent  to  notify  the  invited  ones  that  all  things  were  ready, 
and  exhort  them  to  come  to  the  feast  without  delay. 
These  three  excuses  sound  to  us  silly  and-  foolish  in  the 
extreme,  yet  they  are  as  good  as  any  sinners  on  the  globe 
today  can  present,  though  they  lay  all  their  wits  under 
contribution  to  get  them  up.    When  all  the  prominent 
classes  had  refused,  then  the  messenger  was  sent  into  the 
streets  and  lanes;  L  e.,  to  the  poor  people  of  Jerusalem, 
and  throughout  all  Israel,  inviting  them  to  come  without 
delay.    Finally  the  report  was  brought  back.  "Plenty  of 
room  at  the  table  yet  unoccupied.'^    Then  the  messen- 
gers are  sent  to  the  highways  and  hedges,  i.  e.,  into  the 
whole  Gentile  world,  with  orders  to  compel  them  to  come 
in;  i.   e.,  do  everything  in  your  power  to  get  people 
saved.    They  are  dying  on  all  sides,  and  sinking  into  hell 
by  millions.  Hence  it  is  a  time  of  crying  emergency, 
appalling  necessity,  a  crucial  ordeal  for  dear  life — any- 
thing in  the  world  to  arrest  the  awful  tide  of  damnation 
and  keep  people  out  of  hell,  is  lawful,  right  and  Scrip- 
tural.   Those  poor  Jews  who  rejected  Christ  were  doom- 
ed, and  perished  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  despite 
all  their  wealth,  pride,  pomp,  pageantry  and  learning. 
Those  very  high  priests  and  Pharisees  perished  miserably 
and  sank  into  perdition. 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea,  211 

TERMS  OF  DISCIPLESHIP. 

V.  25.  Many  multitudes  were  going  along  with  Him, 
and  turning,  He  said  to  them,  "If  anyone  comes  to  me 
and  does  not  hate  his  father,  mother,  wife,  children, 
brothers,  sisters,  and  yet  even  his  own  soul,  he  is  not  able 
to  be  my  disciple."  Hate  here  means  love  in  a  subordi- 
nate degree.  Love  andhate  are  antithetical.  Yet  love  may 
be  so  great  that,  when  contrasted  with  love  on  an  infinite- 
ly lower  plane,  the  latter  actually  becomes  antithetical 
to  the  former,  receiving  the  contrastive  signification  of 
hatred ;  e.  g.,  gold  might  become  so  plentiful  that  silver 
would  forfeit  its  value.  Our  love  for  Christ  is  to  be  su- 
preme in  the  superlative  degree,  throwing  into  eclipse  all 
other  loves,  so  they  lose  their  significance  and  contrast- 
edly  with  our  love  for  Him,  actually  become  hatred. 
It  is  a  Hebrew  expression,  better  understood  in  the 
strong  language  of  the  Orientals  than  in  the  comparative- 
ly weak  phraseology  of  the  Occidentals. 

V.  28.  "For,  which  one  of  you,  wishing  to  build,  does 
not  first  sit  down,  and  count  the  cost,  whether  he  has 
sufficient  to  complete  it,  lest  he,  laying  the  foundation 
and  being  unable,  all  seeing,  may  mock  him,  saying, 
"This  man  began  to  'buiidj  and  was  unable  to  complete 
it.' "  The  word  translated  "complete"  here  is  the  strong- 
est in  the  vocabulary  and  currently  used  in  the  Scripture 
for  Christian  perfection.  The  foundation  is  laid  in 
regeneration  (1  Cor.  3:10),  and  the  superstructure  of 
holiness  is  built  in  sanctification ;  hence  these  plain 
words  of  the  Savior  enforce  the  conclusion  that  it  col- 
lapses and  proves  a  failure,  if  we  do  not  go  on  and  receive 
the  experience  of  perfection.  This  parable  corroborates 


212  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  preceding  one,  exhibiting  perfect  love,  and  this  one 
a  finished  Christian  character.  "What  king  going  to  en- 
ter into  war  with  another  king  will  not  first,  sitting 
down,  counsel  if  he  is  able,  with  ten  thousand  coming 
against  him,  to  meet  twenty  thousand ;  or  if  not,  he  being 
yet  a  great  way  off,  sending  an  embassy,  he  seeks  for 
those  things  appertaining  to  peace."  This  parable  beau- 
tifully emblematizes  the  sinner  (and  we  are  all  sinners ; 
converted  people  are  pardoned  sinners;  sanctified  people 
are  purified  sinners;  through  all  eternity  we  will  never 
be  anything  but  sinners  saved  by  grace,  not  angels,  who 
never  needed  salvation) ;  who  is  far  from  God,  yet  des- 
tined to  m>eet  himi  very  soon.  So  in  the  contrast, 
God  is  the  adversary  marching  to  meet  him  with  twenty 
thousand  soldiers,  hence  the  highest  behest  of  wisdom 
cries  out,  m-ake  h^as'te,  send  a  pacific  embassador  to  the 
outraged  King  with  all  possible  expedition,  to  negotiate 
for  peace  and  speed  a  reconciliation. 

V.  33.  "Tiius,  therefore,  no  one  of  you  who  does  not 
consecrate  all  his  possessions,  is  able  to  be  my  disci- 
ple." This  presentation  of  the  kingdom  in  three  dis- 
tinct and  forcible  paxableg  sihows  most  oonclusdvely  the 
absolute  necessity  of  entire  consecration  and  complete 
S'an'ctification  in  every  case.  He  winds  it  up  by  an  allu- 
sion to  the  savorless  salt  which,  is  fit  for  nothing  but  to 
make  walks.  When  religion  'has  lost  the  Holy  Ghost,  it 
is  utterly  savorless ;  i.  e.,  incompetent  to  save  a  soul,  and 
utilized  only  by  the  devil,  who  much  appreciates  it  as 
material  to  make  walks  for  the  convenience  of  the  poor, 
deluded,  counterfeit  professors,  who  so  highly  prize  an 
easy  and  comfortable  walk  down  to  hell.  Jesus  is 
preaching  day  after  day  to  the  vast  multitudes  who  ac- 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea,  213 

companied  Him  in  His  peregrinations,  walking  along, 
prosecuting  His  memorable  walk  through  Perea  with 
His  face  towards  Jerusalem,  ever  and  anon  halting  and 
preaching  to  the  spell-bound  myriads. 

THE  LOST  SHEEP. 

Ch.  15 :4-7.  "Whatman  of  yo-u  hayinga  hundred  sheep 
and  losing  one  of  them,  does  not  leave  the  ninety  and 
nine  in  the  wilderness  and  go  after  the  lost  one  until 
he  may  find  it?  And  having  found  it,  he  puts  it  on  his 
shoulder  rejoicing,  and  having  come  to  the  house  calls 
together  his  friends  and  neighbors,  saying  to  them,  Ee- 
joice  with  me,  because  I  (have  found  my  sheep  which  was 
lost.  I  say  unto'  you  that  in  a  similar  manner  there  will  be 
more  rejoicing  in  Heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth, 
rather  than  ninety  and  nine  just  people  who  need  no 
repentance.'^  This  parabolic  gem  applies  to  every  sinner 
on  the  globe,  who,  by  the  wonderful  grace  of  Christ,  was 
born  into  the  kingdom,  and  got  out  only  when  he  sinned 
out.  Every  sheep  was  born  in  the  fold  and  strayed  away 
in  some  inopportune  hour  after  weaning.  Oh,  what  an 
inspiration  our  Lord  here  gives  to  all  His  people,  to 
stir  them  up,  to  do  their  utmost  to  rescue  sinners  stray- 
ing away  from  Grod  and  perishing  eternally  on  all  sides. 
This  parable,  however,  has  a  signification  deep,  broad, 
grand  and  sweeping,  eclipsing  the  loftiest  heights  of 
erudition,  winged  with  the  pinions  of  imagination.  As 
a  rule,  the  oriental  shepherd  is  in  charge  of  one  hun- 
dred sheep.  One  hundred  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  defi- 
nite, but  simply  a  representative  round  number,  beauti- 
fully eihibitory  of  the  magnificent  retinue  of  worlds, 


214  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

which,  dropped  from  the  lingers  of  the  Almighty  on 
creation's  morn  and  took  their  respective  places  in  the 
vast  ethereal  plain  of  the  celestial  elliptic.  Satan,  six 
thousand  years  ago,  maneuvered  to  side-track  this  world 
and  run  it  away  off  into  the  obs'cure  darkness,  in  view 
of  adding  it  to  hell  in  order  to  enlarge  the  regions  of  the 
damned.  Meanwhile  the  Son  of  God  looked  from  the 
celestial  pinnacles,  saw  our  irretrievable  woe,  laid  aside 
the  diadem  of  His  triune  glory^  and  came  to  our  relief; 
nobly  espousing  the  lost  cause,  thus  undertaking  to  re- 
cover this  world  from  the  calamities  of  the  Fall,  restore 
it  to  its  place  in  the  plain  of  the  elliptic,  there 
with  its  unfallen  comrades,  to  wheel  around  the  cycles  of 
celestial  splendor  and  glory,  ever  accumulating  new 
beauty  and  splendor,  while  the  centuries  of  eternity 
move  on. 

Thus  the  Prince  of  Glory  has  been  working 
on  the  noble  enterprise  of  recovering  this  lost  sheep. 
Six  thousand  years  have  rolled  away.  Grand  proficiency 
has  been  made,  victories  brightening  with  the  tread  of 
centuries,  till  the  culmination  of  Calvary  thrilled  heav- 
en with  triumph  and  appalled  hell  with  groans.  Em- 
manueFs  armies  are  marching.  Victories  are  brighten^ 
ing  beneath  every  sky.  The  Lord  is  coming  back  in  His 
glory  to  dJethrone  Satan  and  take  him  out  of  the  world, 
girdle  the  globe  with  salvation  and  holiness  to  the  Lord, 
bringing  on  a  heavenly  harvest  of  a  thousand  years,  fol- 
lowed by  the  sanctification  of  the  earth  with  celestial 
fire,  its  final  renovation,  its  investiture  with  heavenly 
similitude  and  restoration  to  its  pristine  orbit  in  the  ce- 
lestial elliptic,  with  the  stentorian  shouts  ringing  from 
the  lips  of  the  God-Man,  "Eejoice  with  me,  for  I  have 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea.  215 

found  my  sheep  which  was  lost !"  Oh,  what  a  shout  will 
then  roar  out  from  the  other  ninety  and  nine  worlds 
that  went  not  astray  ! 

THE  LOST  MONEY. 

V  :8,  10.  "Or  what  woman  having  ten  drachmas,  if 
she  should  lose  one  drachma,  does  she  not  light  a  candle 
and  sweep  the  house  and  search  diligently  till  she  may 
find  it  ?  Having  found  it,  she  calls  together  her  friends 
and  neighbors,  saying  "Eejoice  with  me,  because  I  found 
the  drachma  which  I  lost.  Thus  I  say  to  you,  there  is 
joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sin- 
ner that  repents."  The  drachma  was  an  attic  coin  worth 
about  nine  and  a  half  cents.  Ten  si,  a  number  prominent 
in  the  Bible  representing  perfection.  This  drachma 
really  emblematizes  the  human  soul,  while  the  woman  is 
the  church  and  the  broom  the  Word  of  Ood.  The  lost 
money  had  not  at  all  depreciated)  in  value,  yet  in  its 
condition  it  was  utterly  worthless.  Thus  the  soul  of 
the  sinner  is  of  infinite  value,  having  cost  the  life  of 
Jesus;  yet,  in  sin,  it  has  no  possible  availability,  and 
would  better  never  have  existed.  WHiile  the  woman  here, 
is  the  church,you  know  a  dead  woman  never  sweeps  her 
house.  If  she  is  full  of  life,  intelligence  and  activity, 
she  will  ransack  and  clean  out  every  old  closet,  and 
never  desist  till  she  finds  the  lost  money.  Hence  you 
see  that  a  church  without  the  Holy  Ghost  will  never 
hunt  up  the  lost  souls.  She  has  neither  the  light,  skill, 
activity,  nor  the  enterprise  requisite  in  the  emergency. 


216  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

THE  PRODIGAL  SON. 

V:  11-32.  This  has  been,  by  theologians,  denominated 
the  pearl  of  parables.  The  father  emblematizes  the  Al- 
mighty, while  the  two  sons  represent  the  whole  human 
race,  born  in  the  Father^s  house;  i.  e.,  the  Kingdom  of 
Grace,  illustrating  the  consolatory  fact,  that  the  wonder- 
ful grace  of  Christ  lias  so  prevailed  and  defeated  the 
powers  of  darkness,  that  every  human  being  is  born  in 
the  Kingdom,  enjoying  infantile  justification,  till  the 
birth-right  is  forfeited  by  personal  transgression.  In  this 
case  the  elder  brother,  who,  under  patriarchal  law,  was 
entitled  to  a  double  portion  of  the  father's  estate,  for- 
tunately for  himself,  stayed  at  home,  labored  dili- 
gently, augmenting  his  patrimony  and  comforting  the 
hearts  of  father  and  mother  (the  church),  confirmatory 
of  the  gracious  possibility  on  the  part  of  every  son  and 
daughter  of  Adam's  ruined  race,  to  abide  in  their  infan- 
tile justification,  brightened  by  an  early  conversion  and 
established  by  a  timely  sanctifioation,  ^the  mighty  break- 
waters wiidch  redeeming  grace  builds  up  to  fortify  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  men  against  all  the  bulwarks  of 
Satan  and  the  miasmatic  pestilences  of  hell.'  Unfor- 
tunately the  younger  brother  strayed  away,  wandered  in 
the  enemy's  land  till  he  spent  all ;  i.  e.,  utterly  backslid 
from  his  infantile  justification,  the  temptations  of  the 
world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  coming  in  like  a  flood,  till 
gaunt  famine  stalks  abroad  and  looks  him  in  the  face; 
i.  e.,  Satan  throws  his  lasso  around  his  neck  and  is  fast 
dragging  him  into  hell.  Meanwhile,  the  remembrance  of 
a  godly  home  clings  to  him  night  and  day,  refusing  to 
let  up ;  i.  e.,  his  convictions  will  not  down.    Therefore, 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea.  217 

he  goes  and  identifies  himself  with  a  swine-feeder  (i.  e.. 
joins  a  carnal,  anti^holiness  church,  which  were  very 
prevalent  in  that  country).  In  order  to  compliment 
him,  they  elect  him  deacon  and  honor  him  with  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Templets  support.  Consequently  it  is  his 
prerogative  to  feed  the  swine,  thus  operating  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  leading  financial  officer. 

16.  "And  he  wished  to  fill  his  stomach  from  the 
pods  which  the  swine  were  eating,  and  no  one  gave  unto 
him."  The  E.  V.  is  very  erratic  in  this  passage,  as  hogg 
will  not  eat  shucks,  and  if  they  did,  they  would  starve 
to  death.  The  Greek  kesativom,  which  means  the  pods 
produced  by  the  carob  tree,  which  grows  in  the  Holy 
Land,  (I  remember  a  number  of  those  trees  on  Mt.  Oli- 
vet, along  the  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Bethany),  in  Sy- 
ria, Italy  and  the  Argentine  Republic  of  South  America. 
The  pods  are  about  ten  inches  long,  containing  a  sweet 
pulp,  with  a  number  of  kernels  scattered  along  through 
them.  They  are  used  to  fatten  swine,  which  eat  them 
with  great  avidity  and  do  well.  Camels,  also,  and  cattle 
eat  them.  The  prodigal  son  subsisted  on  the  same  food 
which  he  gave  the  hogs,  because,  as  it  says,  "No  one 
gave  unto  him" ;  i.  e.,  no  one  gave  him  anything  else  to 
eat.  This  sad  history  is  now  repeated  in  millions  of 
cases,  w'here  children  brought  up  in  a  godly  home  float 
away,  fall  under  the  influence  of  carnal  people,  join  their 
church,  content  themselves  to  live  on  hog  feed:  (i.  e., 
carnal  preaching. )  and  enjoy  honors,  holding  offices,  com- 
plimented to  rule  the  church ;  so  live  and  die,  and,  like 
Dives,  wake  up  in  hell. 

Fortunately,  this  young  man  did  not  succeed  in  com- 
pletely drowning  his  convictions;    therefore,  under  the 


218  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

frequent  visitation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  one  day  at  the 
hog-pen,  he  receives  another  stroke  from  Mt.  Sinai's 
battering-ram  which  literally  knocks  him  up. 

17.  "And  having  come  to  himself,  he  said,  How 
many  hired  servants  of  my  father  abound  in  bread;  and 
here  I  perish  with  hunger."  The  trouble  with  the  mil- 
lions now  in  hell  is,  that  they  come  to  themselves  too 
late;  the  angel  of  repentance  long  rejected,  having  re- 
treated to  return  no  more.  The  hired  servants 
here  are  not  Satan's  people,  but  Christians  in  a  justified 
state,  needing  sanctification  to  give  them  the  spirit  of 
adoption  into  son?hip. 

Gal.  4:1-7.  Xow  grace  prevails,  heroic  resolution 
follows,  the  false  consolations  of  a  carnal  church,  official 
emoluments  all  thrown  to  the  winds,  he  moves  off 
speedily  to  his  father's  house.  The  father  sees 
him  a  long  way  off  (i.  e.,  as  far  as  he  has  ever  wandered 
and  sinned),  comes  to  meet  him,  kisses  him  copiously 
(i.  e.,  justifies  him  freely),  while  his  bitter  anguish,  like 
an  artesian  well,  from  a  broken  heart,  confesses  all  his 
sins.  Forthwith  the  father  orders  his  investiture  with 
the  best  robe  (i.  e.,  the  blood-washed  rdbe  of  holiness), 
puts  the  marriage  ring  on  his  hand  and  shoes  on  his 
feet;  (i.  e.,  sanctifies  him  wholly,  and  sends  him  out  to 
preach.) 

This  is  a  case  where  the  two  works  of  grace 
came  in  quick  succession,  converted  when  the  father  em- 
braced him,  conferring  the  kiss  of  peace,  and  sanctified 
on  the  reception  of  the  robe  and  the  ring  and  invested 
with  the  gospel  shoes,  confirmatory  of  his  call  to  preach 
the  everlasting  gospel. 

Now  a  brief  episode  follows  relative  to  the  elder  son. 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea,  219 

whose  envy  and  jealousy  are  aroused  when  he  hears  the 
extravagant  rejoicing  over  the  return  of  his  prodigal 
brother.  He  thought  they  ought  to  shout  over  him,  who 
had  been  so  good  to  stay  at  home  and  work,  obedient  to 
his  father  and  mother,  and  conservative  of  all  the  home 
interests.  There  is  no  intimation  that  he  had  lost  his 
infantile  justification,  but  the  contrary  is  really  affirmed. 

V :  29.  "And  responding,  he  said  to  the  father.  Behold, 
so  many  years  I  serve  thee,  and  never  did  I  transgress 
thy  eomm'andment,  and  yet  thou  never  gavest  me  a 
kid,  that  I  might  rejoice  along  with  my  friends."  This 
confirms  the  conclusion  that  he  had  not  lost  his  infantile 
justification;  however,  it  is  obvious  that  he  much  needed 
sanctification  to  take  all  the  fret  and  worry  out  of  him, 
and  qualify  him  to  join  the  saints  and  angels  in  their 
rejoicing  over  his  returned  brother.  The  hypothesis  that 
the  Bible  anywhere,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  sets  a 
premium  on  sin,  is  untenable.  While  in  this  case  the 
younger  brother  had  outstripped  the  elder  on  the  grace 
line,  having  not  only  received  restoration  from  his  awful 
backsliding,  but  sanctification,  yet  we  must  recognize 
the  fact  that  the  elder  brother  at  the  beginning,  received 
a  double  portion  of  the  estate,  which  he  has  doubtless,  by 
his  industry  and  temperance,  decidedly  augmented, 
vAAIq  his  younger  brother  wasted  his  in  dissipation. 

28.  "But  he  was  angry  and  was  not  willing  to  come 
in,  and  his  father,  having  come  out,  continued  to  entreat 
him.''  Here  the  history  -stops,  leaving  at  least,  a  pre- 
sumption, and,  I  trow,  a  strong  probability,  that  he 
yielded  to  the  protracted  exhortation  of  his  father,  came 
in,  got  sanctified,  and  joined  his  brother  in  the  rejoic- 
ing's of  the  jubilant  saints  and  ecstatic  angels. 


220  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

THE  STEWARD  AND  HIS  LORD. 

Ch.  16 :1-13.  This  man  is  generally  denominated  the 
unjust  steward.  The  world,  however,  says  that  he  was 
slandered  to  his  lord  as  having  wasted  his  goods;  conse- 
quently his  lord  calls  him  to  account  and  takes  his  stew- 
ardship from  him ;  throwing  him  out  on  his  own  resourc- 
es. In  his  perplexity  (verse  3),  the  steward  said  witihia 
himself,  "Wihat  shall  I  d)o,  because  my  lord  taketh  my 
stewardship  from  me?  I  am  unable  to  dig,  I  am  ashamed 
to  beg.''  The  facts  thus  far  corroborate  the  conclusion 
that  he  had  dealt  honestly  with  his  lord,  accumulated  by 
his  office,  simply  defraying  current  expenses.  He  had  lost 
both  the  habit  and  the  a!bility  to  perform  manual  labor, 
by  the  long  absence  from  the  hardships  of  rough  and 
assiduous  toil.  So  he  is  driven  to  his  wit's  endis,  finally 
falling  on  a  stratagem. 

4.  "I  am  resolved  what  to  do  in  order  that  when  I 
am  put  out  of  my  stewardship  they  shall  receive  me  into 
their  homes."  Calling  each  one  of  the  debtors  of  his  lord, 
he  said  to  the  first.  How  much  do  you  owe  my  lord? 
And  he  said,  A  hundred  measures  of  oil.  And  he  said 
to  him,  Take  out  thy  accounts  and  sitting  down  write 
fifty.  Then  he  said  to  another,  How  much  do  you  owe  ? 
And  he  said,  A  hundred  measures  of  w'heat.  And  he  said 
to  him.  Take  thy  accounts  and  write  eighty.  And  the 
lord  praised  the  steward  of  unrighteousness  because  he 
did  wisely:  because  the  children  of  this  age  are  wiser 
in  their  generation  than  the  children  of  light.  "And  I 
say  unto  you,  Make  to  yourselves  friends  of  the  mam- 
mon of  unrighteousness  in  order  that  when  it  may  fail 
you,  they  may  receive  you  into  eternal  habitations." 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea,  221 

"Lord''  in  this  parable,  does  not  mean  God,  but  the  land- 
lord in  whose  service  this  steward  had  long  been  em- 
ployed. The  salient  point  in  the  parable  is  the  wisdom 
which  the  Holy  Grhost  inspires,  and  will  make  us  wise 
unto  saWation.  It  is  here  illustrated  by  the  temporal 
shrewdness  of  this  steward.  He  made  these  condone- 
ments  before  he  gave  up  the  books  and  really  went  out 
of  office,  doubtless  transacting  the  business  privately 
with  each  debtor,and  by  thus  doing  him  a  favor,  bringing 
him  under  obligations  to  him  and  preparing  the  way 
for  the  help  he  would  need  in  the  emergencies  coming  on 
him:  illustrating  the  transcendent  importance  on  the 
part  of  every  probationer,  to  provide  for  the  emergency 
speedily,  when  we  must  give  an  account  of  our  steward- 
ship. There  is  no  insinuation  of  apology  for  fraudu- 
lent desaling,  in  order  to  provide  for  temporal  emergen- 
cies. As  a  rule,  a  parable  has  only  about  one  great  sali- 
ent truth  elucidiated  and  enforced.  In  this  that  tran- 
scendent truth  is  the  wisdom  which  makes  us  sacrifice 
and  forfeit  ever}'thing  in  order  to  secure  the  favor  of 
Grod  ?.nd  a  home  in  Heaven.  It  is  a  universal,  patent 
fact,  corroborated  by  constant  observation,  that  a  greater 
degree  of  wisdom  is  manifested  in  providing  for  the 
emergencies  of  this  life  than  for  that  which  is  to  come. 
The  climax  of  this  parable  is  the  commandment 
(verse  9),  "Make  to  yourselves  friends  of  tiie  mammon 
of  unrighteousness,  in  order  that  when  it  may  fail  you^ 
they  may  receive  you  into  eternal  habitations."  Money 
is  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  here  contrasted  with 
the  grace  of  God,  which  we  ought  to  seek  with  more 
avidity  than  worldly  people  seek  after  gold.  While  "the 
love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evils,"  actually  putting  a 


222  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

scepter  in  the  hands  of  the  mone3^-god,  by  which  he  rules 
his  millions,  sinking  them  into  perdition,  yet  we-  mu^t 
admit  that  money  is  the  greatest  power  on  the  earth; 
e.  g.,  the  British  Empire  this  day  rules  the  world  by  her 
m'on€y  power,  because  she  has  been  piling  up  gold  in  the 
Bank  of  England  the  last  thousand  years.  There  is  only 
-one  possible  expedient  by  which  you  can  make  money 
your  friend,  and  that  is  the  real  experience  of  entire 
sanctification.  Get  sanctified  w^holly,  and  you  are  more 
than  a  match  for  money.  You  command  it,  and  it  goes 
to  the  end  of  the  earth  to  save  souls.  Sister  Ferguson, 
of  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  has  a  hundred  missionaries  in  the 
field.  Doubtless  many  of  their  converts  will  get  to  Heav- 
en before  she  'does,  and  will  be  ready,  through  the  notifi- 
cation of  the  guardian  aiigel,when  her  frail  body  fails  on 
earth,  to  meet  her  at  the  pearly  gate  with  a  long,  loud 
welcome  home. 

Pursuant  to  this  warning  of  our  Savior,  we  should 
all  be  so  sanctified  that  we  shall  have  complete  con- 
trol over  money  and  all  the  things  of  this  world,  condu- 
cive to  the  happy  welcome  into  glory,  which  we  all  so 
much  desire.  Therefore  we  should  not  only  send  our 
money  to  the  heathen  beyond  the  seas,  like  the  ravens 
feeding  Elijah,  to  bear  the  bread  of  life  to  famishing 
millions,  but  we  should  utilize  the  wisdom  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  freely  gives,  in  helping  the  widows,  the  or- 
phans, the  poor,  and  doing  our  utmost  to  send  the  light 
of  truth  and  righteousness  into  every  home  far  and  near, 
thus  bringing  all  the  people  we  can  help  under  obliga- 
tions to  us,  as  we  are  quickly  going  to  deliver  up  our 
stewardship  and  stand  before  God. 


Jesus   Preaches  in   Perea.  223 

THE  RICH  MAN  AND  LAZARUS, 

V:  19-31.  Here  vre  have  the  abbreviated  biography  of 
two  representative  men,  standing  at  the  antipodes  of  the 
world;  the  one  at  the  top,  and  the  other  at  the  bottom. 
The  Tyrians  and  Sidonians  became  immensely  rich  early 
in  the  post-diluvian  world,because  they  managed  to  get  a 
^eorner^  on  the  manufacture  of  the  beautiful,  costly,  scar- 
let robes,  bought  for  immense  money,  and  worn  by  all 
the  kings  of  the  -earth.  Meanwhile, the  Egyptians  reached 
a  similar  celebrity  for  making  the  fine  linen  used  by  the 
kings  for  underwear.  Here  we  see  a  man  so  rich  that  he 
is  a  king  at  his  own  expense,  like  many  money  autoerats 
at  the  present  day.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Jewish 
council;  of  course,  standing  at  the  head  of  it.  He  is 
known  throughout  the  land,  honored  for  his  wealth,  wis- 
dom, enterprise  and  philanthropy.  We  certainly  have  no 
reason  to  believe  that  Lazarus  was  the  only  heggar  who 
participated  in  his  benefactions  and  enjoyed  the  compan- 
ionship of  the  dogs.  In  process  of  time  the  beggar  dies, 
and  is  carried  by  the  angels  to  Abraham's  bosom;  i.  e., 
the  intermediate  paradise,  whither  all  the  0.  T.  saints 
went  and  rested  in  unmingled  joy  till  Christ  led  the  way 
into  heaven  after  His  resurrection,  having  abolished  that 
intermediate  paradise  during  His  visit  thither  while  His 
body  lay  in  the  sepulchre  (Eph.  4:8-10),  and  leading 
them  all  with  Him  into  Heaven.  ^leanwhile  the  rich 
man  dies,  honored  with  a  magnificent  funeral,  as  the 
Greek  implies,  and  to  his  unutterable  surprise,  finds 
him.self  in  hell  instead  of  heaven.  The  Greek  reveals 
that  both  Dives  and  Lazarus  went  to  Hades,  the  latter 
into  Abraham's  bosom  (i.  e.,  the  0.  T.  paradise),  and 


224  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  former  into  the  burning  tartarus,  these  two  places 
being  separated  by  a  chasm  (verse  26)  impas&able  to  all 
finite  beings.  Every  human  being  living  on  the  earth  is 
this  day  in  the  accession  of  the  one  or  the  other ;  these 
prominent,  contrastive  and  diametrically  opposite  char- 
acters representing  every  vicissitude  and  diversity  of  life 
and  character  in  all  ages  and  nations.  The  fact  that 
Dives  was  a  prominent  church  member,  honorable,  influ- 
ential and  pompously  funeralized  himself,  and  the  mag- 
nates of  the  church  believing  that  the  angels  took  him  to 
heaven,  while  really  the  devils  dragged  him  into  hell, 
ought  to  alarm  all  his  successors  to  look  out  and  be 
sure  that  they  are  always  ready  to  give  a  reason  for  the 
hope  that  is  in  them.  Many  preach  'brotherly  love'  as  a 
passport  to  heaven.  This  man  had  it,  even  after  he 
landed  in  hell,  loving  his  five  brothers  so  that  he  wanted 
to  send  them  a  missionary  to  warn  them  and  keep  them 
out  of  tliat  awful  abyss  of  devouring  flame.  He  selected 
Lazarus,  the  hottest  holiness  crank  he  had  ever  known, 
being  unwilling  to  leave  them  in  the  hands  of  the  un- 
solicitous  pastors,  who  had  let;  the  devil  get  him. 

In  this  notable  parable  we  have  three  silent  points; 
i  .e.,  life,  death,  and  the  state  beyond.  If  we  are  going 
to  live  with  Lazarus  in  heaven,  we  must  walk  in  his 
track  and  die  as  he  died  encircled  by  ministering 
angels.  The  great  trouble  is,  the  people  all  want  to  live 
like  Dives.  In  that  case,  they  will  die  like  him  and  wake 
up  in  hell.  He  lived  for  this  world  and  lost  his  soul. 
Lazarus  lived  for  heaven  and  found  the  angels  ready  and 
waiting,  when  he  evacuated  that  suffering  body,  to  en- 
circle him  in  their  pinions  of  light  and  bear  him  to 
Abraham's  bosom. 


Jesus  Preaches   in  Perea.  225 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  GRACE. 

17:20.  "Being  interrogated  by  the  Pharisees  when 
the  kingdom  of  God  cometh,  He  responded  and  said,  The 
kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  by  observation,  neither  will 
they  say,  Lo !  here  or  there,  for  behold  the  kingdiom  of 
God  is  among  you."  The  E.  V.  is  not  tenable,  "within 
you"  being  out  of  harmony  with  the  fact  that  He  is 
speaking  to  those  Pharisees,  whom  He  pronounces  hypo- 
crites. The  better  meaning  of  entos  is  ^among,^  which  is 
perfectly  consistent  and  true,  because  He  and  His  disci- 
ples represented  the  kingdom  in  the  capacity  of  King 
and  subjects.  The  popular  idea  is  very  erroneous,  be- 
cause of  the  prominence  given  to  observable  phenomena ; 
e.  g.,  outward  signs  and  manifestations  diversified  in 
their  character.  We  should  ever  profit  by  His  affirma- 
tion that  the  kingdom  comes,  not  by  observation;  i.  e., 
not  by  anything  we  can  see  or  hear,  but  by  the  silent 
lightning  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  X.  B. — The  thunder  never 
kills  anything ;  the  lightning  does  all  the  execution,  and 
makes  no  noise.  In  His  first  advent,  our  Savior  brought 
with  Him  the  kingdom  of  grace  (Pom.  14:17)  ;  when 
He  comes  again,  He  will  bring  the  kingdom  of  glory. 
The  popular  mind  in  His  day  was  much  confused  by 
mixing  up  the  prophecies  appertaining  to  the  two  ad- 
vents. We  wonder  over  this  confusion,  and  think  they 
ought  to  have  understood  the  propOiecies  more  thor- 
oughly, whereas,  we  are  this  day  confronted  by  the  same 
coniusion  and  even  worse,  the  most  vigorous  efforts  be- 
ing made  by  the  preachers  of  the  orthodox  churches  tc 
actually  do  away  with  the  kingdom  of  glory  on  the  earth 
Dy  twisting  even  the  utterances  of  Jesus,  so  direct  and 


226  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

•iinmistakable,  into  synon3Tiiy  with  His  utterances  reia^ 
tive  to  the  kingdom  of  grace. 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  GLORY. 

V.  17-22;  18-8.  Our  Lord  now  proceeds  to  differenti- 
ate the  kingdom  of  glory,  which  cometh  by  the  greatest 
observation,  from  the  kingdom  of  grace,  which  is 
wrought  silently  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  heart,  and 
without  observation. 

24.  *Tor  as  the  lightning  flashing  out  of  the  one  part 
which  is  under  the  heaven  shineth  unto  the  other  part 
under  heaven,  so  shall  be  the  Son  of  Man  in  His  diay." 
Here  you  see  the  most  decisive  and  unmistakable  con- 
trast between  the  kingdom  of  grace,  which  comes  not  by 
observation,  but  by  the  silent  w^ork  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
heart,  with  the  kingdom  of  glor}%  which  is  demonstrated 
in  the  superlative  degree,  attracting  observation  like  the 
lightning,  which  is  the  most  observable  thing  in  the 
world.  "But  in  the  first  place  it  behooveth  Him  to  suffer 
many  things,  and  to  be  condemned  by  this  generation. 
Whereas,  they  were  'all  looking  for  the  kingdom  of  glory 
then  to  appear.in  the  coronation  of  Jesus  at  the  Passover, 
He  notifies  them  that  it  is  not  coming  at  that  time,  and 
that  He  is-  going  to  die  instead  of  receiving  the  kingdom 
of  Israel.  Then  He  proceeds  to  tell  them  that  the  com- 
ing of  the  Son  of  man  and  the  ushering  in  of  His  king- 
dom, will  be  like  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noah,  when  he 
and  his  family  went  up  in  the  ark ;  sym'bolizing  the  cloud 
in  which  the  saints  will  be  caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord: 
and  Lot  and  his  daughters  rescued  from  Sodom ;  where- 
by the  awful  doom  of  the  wicked  antediluvians,  caught 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea.  227 

by  the  flood,  and  the  Sodomites,  consumed  by  the  fire, 
forcibly  symbolize  the  doom  of  this  wicked  world,  over- 
taken in  the  great  tribulation  when  the  Lord  comes  and 
takes  up  His  bride.  Just  as  the  antediluvians  and  Sod- 
omites were  pressing  along,  building,  buying,  selling, 
and  marrying  till  the  awful  destruction  came,  so  it  will 
be  with  this  unbelieving  generation. 

33.  '^Whosoever  may  seek  to  save  his  soul  shall  lose 
it,  and  if  anyone  shall  lose  it,  he  shall  find  it."  We 
all  come  into  the  world  with  a  bad  soul  (Adam  the  First- 
the  carnal  mind),  which  shall  die,  if  we  would  live  for- 
ever in  heaven.  Therefore,  if  we  hold  on  to  this  fallen 
soul,  we  shall  lose  our  immortal  spiritual  life.  But  if 
"we  submit  to  the  crucifixion  of  the  carnal  mind  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  we  will  live  forever.  Zoogonessei  means 
the  parturition  of  animals,  giving  birth  to  their  youngs 
the  animal  of  course  having  a  real  existence  in  its  com- 
plete organism  before  it  comes  into  the  aerial  world. 
The  word  vividly  and  forcibly  describes  the  transfigura- 
tion of  the  saints,  w^hen  we  will  suddenly  come  out  of 
mortality,  retaining  our  literal  personal  identity,  but 
passing  into  a  state  hitherto  never  known  nor  experi- 
enced. 

34.  "I  say  unto  you,  on  that  night,  two  men  shall 
be  sleeping  on  one  bed,  the  one  will  be  taken  and  the 
other  be  left ;  two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  same 
mill,  the  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left."  These 
utterances  set  forth  a  clear  and  unmistakable  presenti- 
ment of  the  rapture  in  which  the  saints  will  be  taken  up 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  in  their  various  employments 
and  attitudes. 

"Responding,  they  say  to  Him,  where,  Lord?     He 


228  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

said  to  them,  Wherever  the  carcass  is,  there  also  the 
eagles  will  be  gathered."  The  buzzard  is  the  eagle 
species  and  noted  as  the  scavenger  bird,  devouring  dead 
bodies.  This  prophecy  was  verified  clearly  and  unmis- 
takably in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem :  even  the  Roman 
battle-flags  having  the  eagle  pictured  on  them,  which 
was  the  symbol  of  their  nationality. 

18  :1.  ''And  He  spake  a  parable  to  them  that  they 
should  always  pray  and  not  faint."  The  meaning  of  this 
is  that  His  people  should  pray  constantly  that  He  should 
return  in  His  glory  to  take  them  up.  "Saying,  there 
was  a  certain  judge  in  a  certain  city,  neither  fearing  God 
nor  regardiing  man.  And  there  was  a  widow  in  that 
city,  and  she  continued  to  come  to  him,  saying.  Avenge 
me  of  mine  adversary;  and  he  would  not  for  a  time; 
but  after  these  tilings,  he  said  to  himself.  Though  I  fear 
not  God  nor  regard  man ;  because-  this  widow  giveth  unto 
me  trouble,  I  will  avenge  her,  lest  coming  on  forever,  she 
may  smite  me  in  the  face.  And  the  Lord  said.  Hear 
what  the  unjust  judge  sayeth.  Must  not  God  make  ven- 
geance in  behalf  of  His  own  elect  ,crying  day  and  night, 
even  though  He  suffer  long  toward  them?  I  say  unto 
you  that  He  will  execute  vengeance  in  their  behalf  speed- 
ily. Moreover,  the  Son  of  man  having  come,  will  he  then 
find  faith  on  the  earth?"  The  unjust  judge  here  sym- 
bolizes God  in  the  isolated  phase  of  His  absolute  inde- 
pendent sovereignty,  while  the  adversary  is  the  devil,  and 
the  woman  is  the  bride  of  Christ,  mourning  in  her  wid- 
owhood ever  since  her  divine  spouse  flew  up  from  Mt. 
Olivet,  walking  away  on  the  white  clouds  into  bright 
glory. 

During  all  these  dark  centuries  of  Satan's  reign,  he 


Jesus  Preaches   in  Perea.  229 

lias  been  constantly  i^ersecuted,  while  the  popular 
church  in  her  fallen  state  has  long  ago  given  up  her 
ascended  Lord  and  oeasod  to  look  for  Him,  having  entered 
into  adulterous  alliances  with  w^orldly  lovers.  The  true, 
loyal  bride  of  Christ,  in  her  bereavement  and  widow- 
hood, has  continued  through  the  centuries,  to  cry  to 
God  to  send  back  her  glorified  husband -from  heaven, 
that  He  may  put  the  devil  out  of  the  world  and  give  her 
the  victory.  You  see  here  the  implication  is,  when  the 
Lord  comes,  very  few  people  on  the  earth  will  have  faith 
for  His  coming.  Hence,  the  inquir}-,  ^'Will  He  find 
faith  on  the  earth?"  really  has  a  negative  answer,  not 
because  there  will  be  none  looking  for  Him,  but  because 
there  will  be  so  few.  N.  B. — All  this  is  harmonious 
with  the  fact  recognized  throughout  the  parable,  that  the 
true  church,  the  loyal  bride  of  Christ,  will  be  on  the  con- 
stant outlook,  watching,  waiting,  incessantly  praying 
<jod  to  send  back  her  Divine  Spouse,  that  He  may  take 
vengeance  on  the  devil,  her  adversary,  arrest,  chain  and 
put  him  out  of  the  world:  promoting  His  bride  to  the 
subordinate  dominion  of  the  world  (Rev.  20.) 

THE  PHARISEE  AND  THE  PUBLICAN. 

V:  9-14.  Here  we  have  a  vivid  contrast  between  dead, 
form'al  religion  and  non-professing  worldliness,  the  lat- 
ter under  deep  conviction,  freely  pardoned  and  gloriously 
saved;  the  former  cloaked  with  self-righteousnese,  im- 
penitent, blinded  by  the  devil,  makes  his  bed  in  hell. 

THE  DIVORCE  QUESTION. 

Matt   19 :3-9.    Here  we  have  the  fact  revealed  that 


230  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

matrimony  actually  unifies  husband  and  wife  in  the  di- 
vine estimation,  so  they  are  no  longer  two,  but  one. 
Such  is  the  nature  and  character  of  adultery,  that  it  de- 
stroys the  matrimonial  unity.  Then,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  innocent  party,  the  Prince  of  Life  grants  a 
divorcement,  which  is  simply  a  ratification  of  the  matri- 
monial nullification.  The  word  translated  divorcement 
is  apostasia;  i.  e.,  that  it  develops  a  radical,  spiritual  rev- 
olution, destroying  the  work  of  grace  in  the  heart  and 
relegating  -the  party  back  to  Satan's  kingdom,  out  of 
which  regeneration  delivered  him.  The  literal  significa- 
tion of  this  word  involves  the  utter  annihilation  of  the 
matrimonial  unification,  and  the  return  of  the  recipient, 
to  the  celibacy   where  matrimony  found  him. 

N.  B. — This  conclusion  is  tenable  only  in  case  of 
Scriptural  divorcement;  the  country  being  filled  with 
unlawful   marriages  and  innumerable,   illegal   divorce- 
ments, sanctioned  by  the  local  State  laws,  wherever  the 
parties  are  financially  able  to  fee  a  lawyer.    "But  I  say 
unto  you,  that  whosoever  may  put  away  his  wife,  except 
for  fornication,  and  marry  another,  committeth  adultry ; 
and  the  man  having  married  the  cast  off  woman  (not  as 
for  fornication,and  marr}^  another,  committeth  adrulter}- ; 
above  erroneous  translation  of  E.  V.  has  caused  much 
trouble  grieving  those  whom  God  has  not  grieved,  wreck- 
ing souls  and  throwing  a  dark  S'hadow  over  many  a  home, 
otherwise  bright  with  the  sun  of  immortal  hope.  ^'Apole- 
lumeneon,"  translated  ^divorced,"  has  no  such  meaning, 
but  simply  a  cpst  off  woman;  i.  e.,  the  woman  whoise 
tyrannical  husband  has  driven  her  from  home.  The  reas- 
on why  the  man  marrying  her  becomes  guilty  of  adultery, 
is  bec.-cuse  she  is  still  the  wife  of  that  cruel  husband  who 


Jesus  Preaches   in  Ferea.  231 

has  driven  her  from  home.  Our  Savior  here  alludes  to 
Moses,  who  granted  divorcements  for  incompatibility  of 
tempers;  thus  choosing  the  less  of  two  evils.  This,  Jesus 
abrogates;  our  dispensation  occupying  a  higher  plane 
than  the  Mosaic.  We  find  many  cases  at  the  present  day 
so  complicated  that  the  Mosaic  law,  on  matrimoney, 
seems  to  be  the  best  they  can  do,  which  is  evidently  far 
better  than  living  without  law. 

CELIBACY. 

Matt.  10  :12.  "His  disciples  say  to  Him,  If  the  case 
of  a  man  with  his  wife  is  thus,  it  is  better  not  to  marry. 
And  He  said  to  them.  All  do  not  receive  this  word,  but 
those  to  whom  it  has  been  given.  For  there  are  eunuchs 
who  were  so  born  from  the  womb  of  the  mother;  and 
there  are  eunuchs  who  were  made  eunuchs  by  men;  and 
there  are  eunuchs  who  eainuehized  themselves  on  account 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Let  him  receive  it,  who  is  able 
to  receive  it.''  A  eunuch  is  a  man  who  lives  in  perpet- 
ual celibacy  all  his  life,  abstaining  from  matrimony. 
Our  Lord  observes  that  some  are  born  deficient  of  the 
pro-creative  organs,  while  others  have  been  emasculated 
by  human  hand  ,and  still  others  who  have  rendered 
themselves  eunuchs  in  the  interest  of  the  Lord's  king- 
dom. Among  the  latter,  were  the  Apostle  Paul  and 
Bishops  Asubury,  McKendre  and  George.  During  the 
middle  ages,  many  of  the  Lord^'s  people  devoted  them- 
selves to  monastic  life;  abiding  in  perpetual  celibacy  for 
the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

THE  LITTLE  CHILDREN. 

M'ark  10 :13-16,    Here  we  see  many  infants  brought 


^32  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

to  Him  for  His  blessing.  Despite  the  protestations  of 
His  discipldeSj  who  chided  their  parents  for  bringing 
them,  He  takes  them  up  in  His  arms,  and  continues  to 
bless  them  copiously,  thus  confirming  uniform  New  Tes- 
tament teaching  that  while  our  infants  are  all  fallen  in 
Adam,  they  are  redeemed  in  Christ;  so  that  they  an^ 
actually  born  in  the  kingdom,  and  get  out  only  by  per- 
sonal transgression. 

THE  RICH  YOUNG  MAN. 

Matt.  19 :30.  This  young  man,  who  comes  run- 
ning, falling  down  and  worshiping  the  Savior,  is  not  to 
be  identified  with  the  Pharisees  who  were  so  prominent 
in  all  His  diiscourses.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  actually 
a  paragon  0.  T.  saint;  irreproachable  before  the  law; 
having  kept  all  the  commandments  from  his  youth  up. 

GOD^  ALONE^  ABSOLUTELY  GOOD. 

Matt.  19  :16.  "Behold  one  having  come,  said  to  Him, 
Good  Master,  what  thing  shall  I  do  that  I  may  inherit 
eternal  life?  And  He  said  to  him.  Why  do  you  call  me 
good?  No  one  is  good,  but  One  ,  and  that 
is  God."  False  exegesis  has  expounded  this 
as  a  refusal,  on  the  part  of  Jesus,  to  lot 
them  call  him  good;  a  great  mistake;  it  is  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  young  man's  indirect  confession  of  His  di- 
vinity; i.  e.,  as  much  as  to  say,  "You  call  me  good,  and  • 
such  I  am ;  but  as  God  alone  is  good,  therefore  you  call 
me  God,  for  such  I  am.''  We  apply  the  adjective  'good' 
to  people,  frequently,  but  only  in  a  moral  and  philan- 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea.  233 

thropic  sense.  Spiritually  considered,  they  are  not  good 
people,  as  that  would  imply  that  they  had  never  sinned, 
which  is  not  true.  All  sinned  similarly,  in  the  'fall,'  while 
all  who  have  knowingly  violated  the  law  of  God,  have 
sinned  personally.  A  justified  man  is  a  pardoned  sin- 
ner; a  sanctified  man,  a  purified  sinner,  while  a  good 
man  is  one  who  never  did  commit  sin,  the  Man  Jesus 
being  the  only  one  who  ever  trod  the  globe. 

JESUS  REQUIRES  PERFECTION. 

V:  20.  "The  young  man  says  to  Him;  all  these  things 
have  I  kept  from  my  youth ;  what  lack  I  yet  ?  Jesus  sai(i 
to  him,  If  you  wish  to  be  perfect,  go  sell  all  your  pos- 
sessions and  give  to  the  poor,  and  you  shall  have  treas- 
ure in  Heaven ;  come  hither,  follow  me."  You  see  from 
our  Savior's  response  that  He  requires  perfection.  The 
uojuqD  oqi  JO  auBq,  eq;  ex  ubui  SunoX  eiq^  q;.T^  a^qnoj; 
to-day ;  i.  e.,  the  love  of  money.  We  see  he  stumbled 
over  it,  and  in  all  probability  lost  his  soul.  He  was  a 
beautiful  and  amiable  Old  Testament  saint,  only  need- 
ing sanctification  to  make  him  a  bona-fide  member  of 
the  gospel  church.  We  have  illustrative  parables  by 
thousands  on  all  sides,  this  day;  i.  e.,  people  who  have 
spent  years  walking  in  the  light  of  justification,  sud- 
denly confronted  by  the  gospel  of  entire  sanctification; 
unfortunately  stumbling  over  it,  back-sliding  and  sink- 
ing into  perdition. 

THE  ]SrEEDLE''s  EYE. 

V:23-26.  Here  our  Lord  obsen^es  to  His  disciples 
when  He  saw  the  signal  rebuff  of  the  young  man,  be- 
cause of  his  riches;  and  knowing  how  exceedingly  diffi- 


234  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

cult  it  is  for  the  rich,  to  entev  into  the  Kingdbim  of  God ; 
startled  them  by  the  affirmation,  "It  is  easier  for  a  camel 
to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man 
to  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God/'  Among  the  sym- 
bolisms of  the  old  dispensation,  riches  were  prominent; 
e.  g.,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob  and  Job  were  all  million- 
aires; while  Daniel  was  actually  prime-minister  of  a 
universal  empire,  counting  his  gold  by  millions;  God 
having  in  this  way  showered  on  His  prophets  and  saints 
temporal  blessings,  symbolic  of  the  exuberant,  spiritual 
endowments,  with  which  He  enriched  their  experiences. 
Many  devices  have  been  laid  under  embargo,  to  har- 
monize the  scriptures  with  the  reasonings  of  the  car- 
nal mind.  When  a  little  boy  I  heard  this  difficulty  in- 
geniously explained  away,  alleging  that  there  is  a  gate 
leading  through  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  into  the  city, 
called  tho  "needle's  e^^e."  During  both  of  my  visits  to 
the  Holy  Land,  I  diligently  investigated  the  Holy 
City,  traveling  around  its  walls  and  going  through  the 
streets,  and  exploring  it  thoroughly.  There  are  seven 
gates  entering  the  cit}^  David's  Gate  stands  on  Mt. 
Zion,  leading  from  Jerusalem  into  the  City  of  David. 
The  Joppa  Gate  leads  through  the  west  wall,  a  short 
distance  from  its  junction  with  the  north  wall.  The 
"haw  Gate  leads  through  the  north  wall,  about  one-third 
of  the  distanc€J  from  the  North-west  corner.  The  Damas- 
cus Gate  leads  through  the  north  wall,  about  midway. 
Herod's  Gate  leads  through  the  north  wall  near  the 
North-east  comer.  St.  Steven's  Gate  leads  through 
the  east  wall  near  its  intersection  with  the 
north  wall  of  the  Temple,  while  the  Excre- 
ment   Gate    leads    through    the    south    wall    about 


Jesn^  Preaches  in  Perea.  235 

midway,  being  used  for  the  deportation  of  the  offal  out 
of  the  City,  into  the  Valley  of  Jehosaphat.  I  counted 
seven  gates,  oblivious  of  the  Beautiful  Gate,  which 
leads  into  the  Temple  from  the  east,  where  the  wall  of 
the  City  and  that  of  the  Temple  are  identical.  It  makes 
the  eighth.  I  did  not  count  it,  from  the  fact  that  it 
is  never  used ;  the  Moslems  having  a  prediction  that  the 
moment  it  is  opened,  their  power  falls,  at  Jerusalem. 
Therefore  it  has  been  closed  and  kept  impregnable,  ever 
since  the  Mohammedans  captured  the  city  in  A.  D.,  637. 
The  pulpit  allegation  above  mentioned,  certifies  that 
there  is  a  gate  entering  through  the  walls  of  Jerusalem, 
called  the  "Needle's  Eye,"  and  so  small  that  a  camel 
cannot  pass  through  it  unless  divested  of  his  load. 
Suffice  it  to  say  the  whole  affair  is  utterly  fabulous  and 
untrue;  there  being  no  ^Xeedle's  Eye'  Gate,  and  every 
gate  of  the  city  being  large  enough  for  the  camel  to  enter 
with  his  load!^  Another  subterfuge  from  the  difficulty 
here  presented  by  the  Savior,  is  that  the  Greek  word  for 
camel  means  also  a  large  rope,  used  to  cable  a  ship. 
Therefore,  an  attempt  is  made  to  evade  the  force  of  thig 
declaration,  by  applying  the  word,  not  to  the  animal  but 
to  the  rope.  This  is  also  a  mistake,  no  truth  in  it ;  because 
the  word  for  the  ship  rope,  being  lalimos  and  that  for  the 
animal,  kameelos.  Therefore  the  parallel  argument  ut- 
terly  falls  to  the  ground. 

THE  APOSTLES  THE  FIKST  RULERS  OF  THE  WORLD,  DURING 
THE  MILLENNIAL  THEOCRACY. 

V :  27-30.  "Then  Peter  resiponding,  said  to  Him ;  Be- 
lK>ld!  we  have  forsaken  all  things  and  followed  thee; 
what  then  shall  be  unto  us?  And  Jesus  ^said  to  them; 


236  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Truly,  I  say  unto  you  that  you  who  have  followed  me, 
in  the  regeneration,  when  the  Son  of  Man  may  sit  upon 
the  Throne  of  Glory,  you  also,  may  sit  upon  twelve 
thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel." 

The  utterances  of  our  Savior  at  this  point,  are  clear 
and  unmistakable  and  susceptible  of  only  the  one  easy 
solution ;  i.  e.,  that  during  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophe- 
cy, Eev.  20,it  is  affirmed  that  Ihe  transfigured  saints  will 
rule  the  world  as  the  subordinates  of  Christ,  during  the 
millennium  :meanwhile,the  Apostles  will  be  the  first  rul 
ers  of  the  nation,  this  being,  even  now,  forcibly  corrobor- 
ated by  the  fact  that  there  are  just  about  twelve  great 
national  and  governmental  divisions  on  the  earth 
to-day. 

THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR  MOVEMENT. 

Matt.  20.  In  this  parable  the  word  translated 
penny  in  E.  V.  is  denanon,  and  does  not  mean  the  pen- 
ny, but  ten  pennies.  The  oriental  penny  contains  a  1  1-2 
cts.  of  our  mone}^  Therefore  this  denarion,  which  each 
one  of  the  laborers  received  a  day,  was  worth  15  ctis. 
Money  was  not  so  abundant  then  as  now,  and  hence  the 
more  valuable.  This  denarion  was  the  regular  wages 
of  the  Eoman  soldier.  You  observe  here  that  they  rode 
out  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  hired  some;  then 
more  at  nine.  Still  others  at  noon,  and  at  3.  p.m.,  fin- 
ally going  out  at  five  p.m.,  they  found  still  others  stand- 
ing idle,  who,  upon  the  interrogation,  "Why  stand  ye 
here  all  the  day  idle?"  responded,  "Because  no  one  has 
hired  us."  Then  He  said  to  them.  Go  ye  also,  into  the 
vineyard  and  whatsoever  is  right  I  will  pay  you."  There 
is  a  striking  fact  in  the  case  of  the  eleventii  hour  labor- 


Jesus  Preaclies  in  Perea.  237 

ers,  for  it  is  said  that  no  one  had  hired  them ;  involving, 
at  least,  a  strong  suspicion  that  there  was  some  defi- 
ciency ahout  them,  in  view  of  which,  they  were  not  hired 
at  an  earlier  hour.  The  ages  have  been  swiftly  rolling 
away.  Six  thousand  years  are  almost  numheredl  with  the 
cycles  of  eternity.  Grod  'has*  been  calling  the  world,  especi- 
ally manifesting  Himself  at  the  different  epochs  in  by- 
gone ages.  All  the  chronologies  corroborate  theconclusion 
that  we  are  living  in  the  end  of  the  Gentile  dispensa- 
tion, amid  the  da\\'n  of  the  millennium.  W%en  Jesus 
bade  His  church  adieu,  for  His  return  to  Glory,  He  com- 
missioned it  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  nation,  assur- 
ing it  that  He  would  return  on  the  throne  of  His  glory, 
as  soon  as  the  work  was  completed.  Xever  before,  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  was  the  church  so  stirred  up  on 
missionary  enterprise  as  now.  The  holiness  movement 
is  girdling  the  globe  with  heavenly  fire  and  shaking  the 
nations  with  the  gigantic  tread  of  her  embattled  host, 
marching  on  to  victory.  Wonderful  reasons  in  former 
ages,unapparent,are  now  m'anife8t,for  demanding  a  more 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  against  sin  and  Satan 
than  ever  before.  Consequently  this  eleventh  hour  move- 
ment is  simply  hiring  all  the  hitherto  unused  mater- 
ial that  she  can  get  her  hands  on.  See  what  an  exceed- 
ingly prominent  part  the  women  are  taking  in  the  pres- 
ent m'Ovement !  EVen  the  saloons  and  darkest  hell-dens 
are  turning  out  their  blood-washed  and  fire-baptized  wit- 
nesses to  this  wonderful  salvation,  and  sending  them  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  I  do  believe  we  are  now  living  in  the  midst 
of  the  eleventh  hour  movement,  permitted  to  hear  the 
last  eall  and  see  the  people  on  all  sides,  falling  in  line 


238  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

and  marching  away  to  the  battlefields.  The  unity  of 
remuneration,  consists  in  the  fact  that  God  Himself  is 
our  everlasting  reward  and  our  portion,  through  all 
eternity.  This  unity  of  recompense  is  not  out  of  har- 
mony with  the  diversity  of  remuneration  which  we 
frequently  find  mentioned;  because  while  God  is  a  unit, 
yet  there  is  an  endless  diversity  in  the  receptivity  of 
different  persons;  some  appropriating  vastly  more  of 
God^s  inexhaustible  divinity  and  infinite  grace  than 
others.  You  find  some  of  these  persons  murmur  against 
the  landlord  who  hired  them.  Of  course  they  were 
counterfeits,  as  there  are  no  murmurers  in  heaven.  This 
conclusion  is  perfectly  compatible  with  the  concluding 
statement;  ''Many  are  called,  but  few  elected."  These 
murmurers  heard  the  call  but  were  not  elected,  and  so 
proved  a  failure.  We  observe  that  all  sorts  of  apparent 
irregularities  are  peculiar  to  this  eleventh  hour  move- 
ment, arising  from  the  fact  that  it  is  a  case  of  emer- 
gency ;  laying  all  possible  resources  and  expediencies  un- 
der contribution  to  e\^ngelize  the  whole  earth  and  get 
ready  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  Oh,  how  wonder- 
fully this  Eleventh  hour'  movement  is  using  the  diver- 
sities of  material  which  have  been  rejected  by  all  the 
churches,  and  how  signally  is  God  putting  His  seal  on. 
to  harmonize  the  most  impracticable  and  inefficient  in- 
struments. He  is  truly  raising  up  from  the  slums  and 
the  jungles,  a  panoplied  army,  marching  forth  under 
the  blood-stained  banner  of  King  Jesus,  to  the  conquest 
of  the  world,  and  fast  throwing,  into  eclipse  the  cultured 
clergy. 


Jesus  Preaches  in  Perea.  239 

UNREVEALED  PROPHECY  OF  JESUS. 

Luke,  18 :32-34.  "For  He  will  be  delivered  to  the 
Gentiles,  will  be  mocked,  insulted  and  spat  upon,  and 
they,  scourging  Him,will  kill  Him,  and  on  the  third  day 
He  will  rise.  And  they  understood  none  of  these  things 
and  the  word  was  hidden  from  them,  and  they  did  not 
Know  those  things  which  were  spoken."  This  is  the  third 
prediction  of  His  awful  fate  and  tragical  martyrdom 
awaiting  Him  in  Jerusalem,  and  you  see  the  clear 
affirmation,  that  it  was  ^hidden  from  them  so  they  un- 
derstood none  of  those  things.  Why  was  this?  Be- 
cause the  prediction  was  necessary  to  the  completion  of 
the  prophetical  -curriculum  which  is  the  basis  of  Chris- 
tian faith  in  all  ages.  The  concealment  was  nec- 
essary to  hold  the  elements  in  check,  till  Jesus  could 
actually  complete  the  atonement  and  lay  down  His  life 
and  redeem  a  lost  world.  If  His  friends  had  under- 
stood that  prophecy,  they  would  have  raised  an  awful 
commotion,  revolutionized  the  counitry,  fought,  bled,  and 
died  in  His  defense.  Jesus  was  the  incarnation  of  mer- 
cy :  while  He  proceeded  to  die  for  the.  world,  He  wanted 
no  blood  to  flow  but  His  own. 

AMBITION   OF   JAMES   AND   JOHN. 

Mark  10 :35-45.  Jesus  has  spent  about  a  week  trav- 
eling and  preaching  in  Perea,  the  country  of  the  two 
and  one  half  tribes  east  of  the  Jordan.  His  face  is  to- 
wards Jerusalem.  Vast  multitudes  hang  with  breathless 
eilence  on  His  honeyed  lips,  day  by  day ;  thrilled,  electri- 
fied and  bewildered  w^ith  His  wonderful  preaching;  all 


240  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

deeply  and  strangely  impressed,  that  something  tre- 
mendous is  pending.  As  they  know  that  the  Passover  is 
to  open  in  Jerusalem  in  a  few  days  and  see  that  He  is 
going  to  it,  having  omitted  that  festival  a  year  ago, 
spending  the  time  in  Galilee;  because  He  knew  they 
would  crown  Him  King  and  the  Romans  would  kill  Him 
if  He  went.  Therefore  the  general  anticipation  and  a 
deep  conviction  is  settling  C.own  on  the  people.  He  will 
be  crowned  King  of  the  Jews  during  'the  Passover,  in 
Jerusalem.  Apprehending  this  great  and  notable  event 
and  the  radical,  ecclesiastical  revolution  destined 
to  follow,  James  and  John,  along  with  Peter,  the 
most  prominent  apostles,  coignomened  by  the  Lord,  ^sons 
of  thunder ;'  ventured  to  ask  Him  for  the  first  places  iu 
His  Kingdom,  which  they  believed  would  be  set  up  in  a 
few  days.  Matthew  says,  Salome,  their  mother,  made  the 
request.  I  trow  it  was  mutual.  Our  Lord  here  re- 
sponds, "Are  you  able  to  drink  the  cup  which  I  drink 
and  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  with  which  I  am  bap- 
tized?" 

They  responded  in  the  affirmative.  Jesus  here  alludes 
to  the*  bloody  mart}Tdom  which  awaited  Him.  They  did 
not  understand  Him,  but  they  received  i(t.  James,  first 
of  all,  was  beheaded  by  King  Herod,  John,  miraculously 
saved  from  the  caldron  of  boiling  oil  in  Rome,  A.  D.  95, 
lived  on  six  years  and  is  believed  to  have  been  translated 
to  Heaven  alive.  Here  the  Lord  notifies  His  disciples 
that  His  kingdom,  unlike  all  others,  promotes  by  humil- 
iation, so  that  the  first  in  power  and  influence  are  really 
the  servants  of  all.  V.  45.  "For  the  Son  of  Man  came 
not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister  and  to 
give  His  soul  a  ransom  for  many."    So  in  His  Kingdom 


Jesus  Preaclies  in  Perea.  S41 

there  is  nothing  placed  before  anyone,  but  service  and 
martyrdom,  whereas,  it  is  positively  said  thait  He  died 
for  all.  The  many  here  mentioned,  has  a  subjective  sig- 
nification, meaning  only  those  who  in  the  mercy  and 
providence  of  Grod,  in  all  ages  and  nations,  make  tihdr 
way  throug'h ;  finally,  landing  in  Heavea, 


CHAPTER  X. 

THRILLING  EVENTS  FACILITATING  THE  FINAIiB. 

Jesus  and  the  multitudes  have  cTOssedi  out  of  Peiea 
into  Judea,  at  the  ford  where  Israel  crossed,  under  Josh- 
ua;, opposite  Jericho,  which  is  in  full  view  for  a  dozen 
miles  toward  the  west,  where  the  Jerusalem  road  reaches 
the  plain  of  the  Jordan.  We  have  two  Jeriohosi  promi- 
nent in  the  Bible  and  another  standing  at  the  present 
day.  These  three  JerichoQ  represent  a  right  angled 
triangle;  the  old  Jericho  of  Josihua  at  the  north  angle, 
the  new  Jericho,  here  mentioned',  as  standing  in  the  days 
of  Christ,  three  miles  south,  and  the  Jericho  now  stand- 
ing; having  been  built  by  the  Crusaders  in  the  Twelfth 
Century.  The  old  Jericho  of  Joshua's  time  was  de- 
stroyed, when  Israel  shouted  the  walls  down ;  and  pur- 
suant to  divine  prdiibition,  never  was  rebuilt.  The  Jeri- 
cho of  our  Savior's  time  was  destroyed  by  the  Romans,  in 
the  desolation  of  the  land,  A.  D.  66-73.  The  Jericho 
of  the  Crusaders  is  still  standing.  I  lodged  in  it  during 
both  of  my  tours. 

It  is  now  the  Jewish  Sabbath ,  our  Saturday.  Jesus 
corns  to  Jericho,  accompanied  by  the  mighty  host. 

BLIND  BARTIMEUS. 

Mark  10:46-52.  Mark  gives  the  account  of  blind 
Bartimeus,  sitting  by  the  wayside,begging.  His  attention 
being  arrested  by  the  tread  of  the  mighty  host,  upon  in- 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.       243 

quiry  learming  that    it  is  Jesus     the  Xazarene  pa&sing 
by,  importunately  exclaims,  "Jesus,  thou  son  of  David, 
have  mercy  on  me."  Many  rebuked  him,  ordering  him  to 
dicsist  from  his  uproarious  clamior.     But  all  in  vain,  as 
he  only  exclaimed  the  more  vociferously  and  persistently. 
Jesus  stops  in  the  road  and  tells  them  to  call  him.  Those 
near  by  speak  to  Mm-  saying,  Be  of  good  cheer  ;He  calleth 
thee.  And  laying  his  cloak  down,  rising  up,  he  comes  to 
Jesus,  (V.  51.)  Jesus  responding,  says  to  him,  "Wliat  do 
you  wish  that  I  should  do  to  you  V  The  blind  man  said 
to  Hdm,"Master,that  I  m'ay  receive  my  sight."  Jesus  said 
to  him,  "Go,thy  faith  hath  saved  thee  !  And  immediately 
he  looked  up,  and  followed  Jesus  in  tlie  way."  Doubtless 
Bartimeus  went  on  with  Him  to  Jerusalem,  and  wit- 
nessed His  tragic  death.     In  this  translation,  you  see, 
clearly  and  unmistakably,  that  our  faith  is  the  measur- 
ing line  of  what  we  receive  from  God.     Hence  the  con- 
stant   pertinency  of    the    prayer,  "Lord,  increase    our 
faith."  Luke  corroborates  Mark  here,  in  his  testimony 
that  the  miracle  of  this  blind  man  took  place  as  they 
were  coming  into  Jericho;  while  Matthew  certifies  that 
two  blind  men  were  restored,  while  He  was  going  out 
from  the  city.    Doubtless  they  are  all  correct,  Mark  and 
Luke  giving  the  case  of  Bartimeus,  and  Matthew,  that 
of  two  others. 

CONVERSION    OF    ZACCHAEUS. 

Luke  19  :2-10.  "Behold  a  man  by  name  called  Zac- 
ehseus,  and"he  was  chief  of  the  publicans  and  he  was  rich 
and  was  seeking  to  see  Jesus  and  learn  who  he  was,  and 
was  not  able  for  the  crowd,  because  lie  was  -small  in  stat- 
ure.    And  having  run  before  -them,  he  went  up  in1x>  a 


244  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

sycamore  tree,  in  order  that  he  might  see  Him,  because 
He  was  about  to  pass  tihat  "way.  And  when  he  came  to 
the  place  Jesus,  looking  up,  saw  him  and  said  to  him; 
Zacchaeus,  hasten  to  come  do^v^l,  for  it  behooveth  me  to 
•abide  in  thy  liouse  to-day."  And  hastening  he  came 
doiwn  and  received  him  joyfully.  And  when  they  saw  it 
they  all  murmuredjSaying ;  "He  has  gone  to  abide  with  a 
man  wlio  is  a  sinner.  And  Zacchaeus  standing,  said  to 
the  Lord;  "Behold,  Lord,  I  give  the  half  of  my  goods  to 
the  poor,  and  if  I  have  defrauded  anything  from  -any 
one,  I  restore  four- fold."  And  Jesus  said  to  him ;  "this 
day  salvation  has  come  to  this  house,  as  he  indeed  was 
the  son  of  Abraham ;  for  the  Son  of  man  oame  to  seek 
and  to  'Save  -the  lost." 

This  notable  conversion  took  place  on  Saturday  after- 
noon; i.  e.,  the  Sabbath.  Zacchaeus,  though  a  Jew,  had 
accepted  the  revenue  office  from  the  Roman  govern- 
ment, which  rendered  him  exceedingly  unpopular  among 
the  Jews,consequently,stignamatizedliim  as  a  'sinner,^the 
Greek  armartolos,  being  a  very  strong  word  applied  to 
the  vilest  reprobates,  both  male  and  female.  As  he  was 
chief  of  the  publicans,  standing  at  the  head  of  the  reve- 
nue office  in  that  city,  the  presumption  is  that  he  had 
never  left  his  business  long  enough  to  go  away  and  see 
Jesus.  The  Greek  ezeeter  in  the  imperfect  tense,  implies 
continuation.  Doubtless  he  had  heard  so  much  about 
Jesus,  that  he  was  already  deeply  impressed;  not  only 
anxious,  but  determined  to  see  Him.  This  is  illustrated 
by  his  climbing  the  tree,  which  would  be  considered 
very  undignified;  especially  with  a  gentleman  of  rank 
and  wealth,  enjoying  a  position  at  the  head  of  the  reve- 
nue department.     We  see  how  unhesitatingly  he  sacri- 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.       245 

fioed  d'igni'ty  and  popukrity  tbat  he  mig-lit  see  Jesus. 
The  sycamore  is  the  Eg}*ptian  fig  tree,  much  larger  than 
the  Palestinian.  When  Jesus  sees  him  He  calls  him 
down,  at  the  same  time  notifying  him  that  He  is  going 
•to  lodge  with  him,  whi^h  is  very  important,  because  they 
must  quickly  enter  the  wilderness  of  Judea  and  pass 
through  it  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem.  The  very  fact 
'that  he  came  down  'chairoon/  rejoicing,involves  the  con- 
clusion that  he  was  actually  converted  up  in  that  tree. 
As  blind  Bartimeus  was  his  fellow  citizen,  into  whose 
hat  he  has  dropped  many  a  contribution,  I  trow  he  came 
skipping  and  shouting,  his  flashing  eyeballs  radiating 
the  indubitable  testimony  to  the  mighty  work  of 
which  he  was  the  happy  recipient.  His  conversion  is  al- 
so most  abundantly  and  dem'onstratively  enforced  by  his 
testimony,  "The  half  of  my  goods  I  give  to  the  poor.'' 
That  was  a  wonderful  jump  for  a  rich-strung  Jew,  and 
certainly  a  sun-burst,  gladdening  the  hearts  of  the  poor. 
"If  I  have  defrauded  any  one  out  of  anything  I  will  re- 
store four-fold."  The  Greek  shows  that  he  was  actually 
guilty  of  fraudulent  dealing.  He  was  a  loyal  son  of 
Abraham,  and  now  that  he  is  converted  to  God,  he  is 
determined  to  make  all  wrongs  right.  The  penalty  for 
theft  under  the  law  of  Moses,  was  simple  restitution; 
in  case  of  a  sheep  or  a  goat,  two-fold;  in  case  of  an  ox, 
three-fold;  in  case  of  a  horse  or  a  camel,  four-fold.  So 
Zacchaeus  is  not  willing  to  take  any  risk  in  the  matter, 
He  has  set  out  for  salvation  and  he  is  going  to  have  it 
at  any  cosit.  Con'sequently,  he  covers  the  law  at  a  single 
hound,  lighting  on  quadruple  restitution:  the  hig'hest  de- 
mand of  the  violated  law.  By  the  time  he  has  thus 
given  the  half  to  the  poor  and  restored  all  his  ill- 


246  Life  of  Jesus  and  Ilis  Apostles. 

gotten  gains  four-fold,he  is  unincumbered  with  the  things 
of  this  world  and  ready  to  fall  in  with  his  neighbor  Bar- 
timeus  and  others,  and  swell  the  happy  throng  already 
crowding  in  the  track  of  Jesus;  who  is  still  going  over 
the  earth^seeking  to  save  all  who  are  lost,  like  Zacchaeus. 
Oh,  how  quickly  did  salvation  come  when  Zacchaeus  got 
to  seeking  Jesus,  who  had  been  seeking  him  all  his  life. 
So  when  the  seeking  is  mutual,  salvation  comes  quick- 
ly in  every  case. 

DEPARTURE  OF  JESUS  AND  HIS  TRIUMPHANT  RETURN. 

11-27.  Jesus  having  already  notified  Zacchaeus  that 
He  will  abide  over  night  in  his  house,  which  is  near  by, 
having  gone  home  with  him,  halts  in  front  of  his  dcK)r 
and  delivers  this  beautiful  and  wonderful  parable  to 
the  listening  multitude,  halted  and  held  spell-bound 
as  usual,  by  His  thrilling  utterances,  on  the  kingdom, 
which  He  illustrates  by  the  parable  of  a  nobleman  go- 
ing to  a  far-off  country  to  receive  a  kingdom  and  return- 
ing. Jesus  is  the  nobleman;  Heaven  is  the  far  country, 
and  the  Millennial  Theocracy,  the  kingdom.  Previous  to 
His  departure  the  Lord  called  His  own  servants;  i.  e., 
the  Chris)tian?  ^'>j'd  delivers  to  eadh  one  of  them  a  pound; 
(Greek  mina  I7V2  cts.) ;  and  commands  them  to  trade, 
invest  the  money  and  make  it  as  productive  as  possible 
till  He  comes.  When  He  goes  away  His  citizens;  (i.  a, 
the  people  of  this  wicked  world),  hasten  and  send  an 
embassy  after  Him,  notifying  Him  that  they  do  not  want 
Him  to  reign  over  them.  In  due  time  the  nobleman  re- 
turns, calls  up  all  his  servants,  to  whom  he  had  delivered 
the  money,  and  has  an  investigation  to  «oe  what  each 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.       247 

one  has  made  by  investment  and  traffic.  He  finds  one 
of  them  has  actually  gained  ten  pounds;  he  blesses  him, 
bids  him  hearty  welcome  to  a  place  in  the  kingdom 
which  He  has  brought  with  him,  and  invests  him  with 
the  dominion  of  ten  cities.  Another  comes  and  notifies 
Him  that  his  pound  has  gained  five  pounds.  He  blesses 
him  precisely  as  the  ten-pounder  and  gives  him  domin- 
ion over  five  cities  in  the  kingdom  which  He  has  brought 
with  Him  from  the  country  far  away.  And  a  third  man 
comes  and  says  to  Him ;  "Lord,  bdiold  thy  pound  w^hich 
I  have  kept  laid  up  in  a  napkin.  Fot  I  feared  thee 
because  thou  art  an  austere  man;  thou  takest  up  that 
wM'chthou  has  not  laid  down,and  thou  reapest  that  which 
thou  hast  not  so\\ti."  And  He  says  to  him;  "Out  of 
thine  own  mouth  I  oondlemn  thee,  thou  wicked  servant ; 
thou  knewest  that  I  am  an  austere  man,  taking  up  that 
which  I  have  not  laid  down  and  reaping  that  which  I 
have  not  sovna. ;  wherefore  didst  thou  not  give  my  money 
to  the  bank,  and  having  come,  I  would  have  received  the 
same  with  the  product  ?''  And  He  said  to  those  standing 
by,  "take  the  pound  from  him  and  give  it  to  the  one  hav- 
ing ten  pounds."  And  they  said  to  Him ;  "Lord,  he  has 
ten  pounds."  For  I  say  unto  you  that  to  everyone  hav- 
ing, it  shall  be  givenyand  from  him  not  having,  even  that 
which  he  hath  shall  be  taken  away  from  him.  Moreover, 
hrdng  hither  these  my  enemies,  who  did  not  wish  me  to 
reign  over  them  'and  slay  them  in  my  presence."  The 
enemies  here  mentioned  are  the  unsavable  millions,  this 
day  so  rapidly  crossing  the  dead  line,  by  committing  the 
unpardonable  sin ;  i.  e.,  imputing  the  works  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  the  devil,  which  is  the  fatal  sin  of  the  anti- 
holiness  people,  who  pronounce  all  true,  vital.  Holy 


248  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Ghost  religion,  famatiedsm ;  i.  e.,  impuited  to  the  devil. 
One  o-f  the  sure  evidences  of  the  Lord's  near  approach 
is  the  phenomenal  manner  in  which  the  nominal  church 
is  rejecting  the  Holy  Ghost  by  their  opposition  to  His 
work,  especially  manifested  in  the  holiness  movement, 
and  thus  fast  reaching  an  unsavable  attitude,  by  com- 
mitting the  unpardonable  sin,  which  is  the  blasphemy; 
i.  e.,  contempt  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Matt.  12  :31-32.  This 
is  the  religious  hemisphere  of  Satan's  kingdom,  which  is 
so  fast  ripening  for  destruction.  The  same  was  verified 
in  Judaism,  when  the  leading  clergy,  ruling  elders, 
and  (through  their  influence),  the  rank  and  file  of  their 
membership,  actually  so  grieved  away  the  Holy  Spirit, 
that  they  could  not  be  saved.  Therefore  an  awful  de- 
struction swept  them  away,  during  the  Jewish  tribula- 
tion, A.  D.  66-7.  ^lean while,  the  secular  hemdsphere  of 
Satan's  kingdom  is  crossing  the  dead  line  in  the  direc- 
tion of  infidelity,  with  fearful  rapidity.  These  are  "His 
citizeTLS ;"  i.e.,  the  people  of  this  world,  who  are  'unwill- 
ing to  have  Him  rule  over 'them.'  They  will  perish  in  the 
great  Gentile  tribulation,  destined  soon,  to  fill  the  world 
with  anarchy,  ( of  which  we  have  a  prelude  in  the  murder 
of  our  President;)  deluge  it  with  blood  and  whiten  it 
with  bones.  Dan.  7  :9-14  and  Rev.  ch.  16  and  ch.  19.  The 
man  who  laid  away  his  pound  in  a  napkin  and  kept  it,  is 
the  anti-holiness  professor,  who  rejects  the  second  work 
of  grace,  says,  "conversion  is  enough,  I  will  hold  it  fast 
till  the  Lord  comes  f  stupidly  oblivious  of  the  fact  that 
every  Chrisitdan  is  like  a  bicycle ;  which  either  moves  for- 
ward or  drops  down.  So  you  see  this  man  turns  out  to 
be  a  hopeless  backslider  and  loses  his  soul.  The  pound  is 
taken  from  him  and  given  to  the  ten-pounder.    Why  not 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.       249 

to  the  five-pounder  ?  Because  the  ten-pounder  will  make 
much  more  out  of  it  for  his  Lord  than  the  five-pounder. 
You  see  here  forcibly  stated,  the  great  law  of  spiritual 
thrift,  illustrated  by  the  financial  realm,  in  which  the 
man  who  has  the  most  money,  can  make  money  fastest. 
Even  so  in  the  spiritual  kingdom;  the  person  who  has 
most  will  accumulate  more  rapidly  than  all  others. 
This  parable  is  so  clear,  perspicuous  and  forcible,  that 
all  whose  spiritual  optics  have  been  quickened  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  will  see  it  to  their  profitable  edification ;  in- 
dubitaibly  and  irrefutably  setting  forth  the  return  of  Je- 
sus, on  the  throne  of  His  Millennial  Glory,  when  He  will 
meet  the  saints,  transfigure  them,  resurrecting  the  dead 
and  translating  the  lining:  thus  admitting  them  into 
His  glorious  kingdom,  and  administering  to  them  re- 
wards and  emoluments,  according  to  the  efficiency  with 
which  each  one  has  utilized  the  grace  given  and  magni- 
fied the  redeeming  mercy  of  his  Lord. 

JESUS  ARRIVES  AT  BETHANY. 

John  11 :55-57 ;  12 :9.11.  He  spends  the  night  with' 
Zacchaeus  at  Jericho.  The  next  day,  our  Sunday,  He 
walks  from  Jericho  to  Bethany,  about  thirty  miles,  up 
the  great  mountain  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  most  of  the 
way  through  the  wilderness  of  Judea,  arriving  at  His 
delightful  retreat,  the  home  of  Mary,  Martha  and  Lazar- 
us, in  Bethany,  at  nightfall.  "And  the  Passover  of  the 
Jews  was  nigh,  and  many  went  up  to  Jerusalem  from  the 
country,  that  tfhey  might  purify  themiselves.  They  sought 
therefore,  for  Jesus,  saying  to  one  another  stand- 
ing in  the  Temple ;  what  think  ye  ?    That  He  moy  not 


250  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

come  to  ihe  feast  ?  Tlbe  chief  priesits  and  Pharisees  had 
given  comimandment,  that  if  anyone  knew  where  He 
was,  he  shouhl  divulge  it,  in  order  that  they  might 
arrest  Him.  Then  Jesus  came  into  Bethany  six  days 
before  the  Passover,  where  Lazarus  was,  wihom 
He  raised  from^  the  dead.  When  a  great  mul- 
titude of  the  Jews  knew  that  He  was  there,  they  also 
came;  not  only  on  account  of  Jesus,  but  that  they  mig'ht 
see  Lazarus  whom  He  raised  from  the  dead.  But  the 
chief  priests  counselled'  that  they  would  kill  Lazarus  be- 
cause many  of  the  Jews,  on  account  of  him,  came  and 
were  believing  on  Jesus.  The  reader  makes  inquirv  in 
his  own  mind,  why  the  multitude  waited  till  Jesus  re- 
turned before  they  came  to  see  Lazarus.  This  is  ex- 
plained in  the  fact  that  Lazarus,  when  Jesus  raised  him 
from  the  dead,  went  away  with  Him,  and  accompanied 
Him  in  His  evangelistic  tour  through  Perea.  The  resur- 
rection of  Lazarus,  afiter  he  had  been  dead  four  days  and 
putrefaction  and  decomposition  had  made  great  head- 
way is  concedjed  the  greatest  miracle  upon  record. 
This  so  exasperated  the  high  priests  and  Pharisees  that 
they  determined  to  bring  their  troubles  to  a  speedy  issue 
by  killing  Him. 

TRIUMPHAL  ENTRY. 

Having  spent  Sunday  night  in  the  home  of  Mary, 
Martha  and  Lazarus  in  Bethany,  He  sets  out  for  Jerusa- 
lem Monday  morniing,  along  the  old  Caravan  Road,  used 
from  the  days  of  Abraham,  directly  over  Mt.  Olivet ;  the 
nice,  macadamized  road  now  in  use  for  carriages,  run- 
ning around  it.    Bethphage  stands  on  the  mountain  at 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.       251 

the  entrance  of  the  plain,  having  ascended  the  eastern 
slope.  From  this  village  Jesus  sends  out  disciples  with 
orders  to  bring  Him  a  young  donke}-,  unbroken,  follow- 
ing its  mother,  wthich  they  are  directed  to  find  at  the 
cross  road.  They  also  bring  the  mother  by  way  of  conven- 
ience in  managing  the  colt.  The  symbolism  would 
not  permit  our  Lord  to  ride  the  horse,  w^hioh 
is  the  symbol  of  war  w;hereas,  the  donkey, 
emmently  useful  in  time  of  peace  and  too  slow 
for  war,  symbolizes  the  pacific  missdon  on  which 
the  Prince  of  Peace  came  into  the  world.  When 
they  arrive  with  the  donkeys,  they  put  their  garments  on 
the  colt  and  mount  Jesus  on  him,  John  12  :14.  "And 
Jesus  having  found  a  young  donkey  sat  upon  him,  as  has 
been  written;  "fear  not,  daughter  of  Zion;  behold  thy 
King  Cometh  sitting  upon  the  colt  of  a  donkey."  As  hu- 
man hands  pollute,  it  was  pertinent  that  the  animal 
which  Jesus  rode  should  be  unbroken.  Now  all  of  the 
evangelists  certify  how  the  multitudes  cut  down  the 
branches  of  the  trees  and  strewed  the  way  with  palm 
leaves  and  blooming  flowers,  which  then  abounded 
(April  10),  and  threw  down  their  garments  in  the  road 
for  Jesus  to  ride  over  them,  thus  symbolizing  their  loy- 
alty, for  they  believed  that  He  would  be  crowned  King  of 
the  Jews  in  Jerusalem,  even  before  the  opening  of  the 
Passover  festival,  the  following  Saturday.  V.  13.  They 
took  the  branches  of  the  palm  trees  and  came  out  to  meet 
Him  and)  continued  to  exclaim ;  "Hosanna,  blessed  is  he 
that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord;,the  King  of  Israel !'' 
This  triumphant  entry  was  a  brilliant  scintillation  of  our 
Lord's  second  coming,  when  He  will  ride  into  Jerusalem, 


252  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

not  cm  the  donkey,  but  on  the  'cloud.  When  He  passed 
over  the  tableland  on  the  summit  of  Olivet  and  reached 
the  western  slope,  descending  into  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  the  whole  multitude  broke  out  into  uproarious 
shouts,  saluting  Him  as  the  Son  and  successor  of  King 
David;  waving  the  palms  in  the  air,  which  were  recog- 
nized as  oriental  symbols  of  royalty.  Luke  19  :39.  "And 
certain  ones  from  the  crowd  said  to  Him,  "Teacher,  re- 
buke thy  disciples."  And  He,  responding,  said  to  them ; 
"I  say  unito  you,  that  if  these  may  keep  silent  the  rocks 
wil'l  cry  out." 

Here  we  see  that  our  Lord  receives  and  appreciates 
the  worship  of  praise.  Shouting  is  all  right,  and  accep- 
table worship;  thus  endea\'oring  by  exclamations  and 
ejaculations,  with  adorinig  wonder,  to  proclai*m  and  in- 
stall the  majesty  of  our  King.  "And  when  He  drew  near. 
He  saw  the  city  and  wept  over  it,  saying,  "If  thou 
hadst  indeed  known,  even  in  this  thy  day,  the  thing  ap- 
pertaining to  thy  peace !  but  now  they  are  hidden  from 
thine  eyes.  Because  the  day  shall  come  upon  thee  and 
thine  enemies  will  throw  a  bulwark  and  will  close  in 
around  thee  and  press  on  thee  from  all  sides,  and  they 
will  slay  thee  and  thy  children*  with  thee  and  will  leave 
net  stone  upon  stone  in  thee,  because  thou  hast  not 
known  the  time  of  thy  visitation." 

At  the  spot  along  this  road  where  Jesus 
wept  over  the  city,  we  have  a  most  conspic- 
uous view  of  all  Jerusalem.  The  Greek  Christians  have 
erected  a  beautiful,  snow^-white,  memorial  church,  called 
*The  Church  of  Jesus'  Weeping,'  which  is  an  impressive 
souvenir  of  this  thrilling  event  in  our  Savior's  biography. 
He  saw  in  vivid  panorama  the  appalling  horrors  which 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.       25-5 

w^ere  coming  on  the  city  within  one-tfhird  of  a  century, 
when  the  Roman  armies  actually  besieged,  w^aged  a  sev- 
en years'  war,  desolated  it,  selling  into  slavery  and  lead- 
ing into  captivity,  all  who  survived  the  sword,  pestilence 
and  famine;  leaving  the  most  beautiful  and  strongly 
fortified  city  in  the  world,  without  an  inhabitant.  Matt 
21 :10-17. 

Here  we  learn  that  the  triumphal  procession 
moved  on  down  Mt.  01ivet,cros'sed  the  vallc}^  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  over  the  great  Causeway,  ascended  Mt.  Moriah  and 
entered  the  Holy  Campus,  comprising  thirty-five  acres  of 
land,  containing  Solomon's  Temple  and  other  magnifi- 
cent buildings,  dedicated  to  Jehovah;  but  the 
greater  portion  of  the  area,  entirely  unincumbered  with 
buildings,  constituting  the  Holy  Campus,  on  which  the 
Israelites  pitched  their  tents,  during  their  great  national 
festivals  ;and  all  this  is  included  in  the  word  "Temple," 
as  it  occurs  in  the  N"ew  Testament.  Three  thousand 
years  have  rolled  away  since  John  the  Baptist  introduced 
Jesus  to  the  people  and  by  his  baptism  inaugurated  Him 
into  His  official  Messiahship.  During  all  these  years 
the  whole  country  has  been  agitated,  with  reference  to 
this  Paradoxical  Man,  really  the  wonder  and  the  enigma 
•of  all  students.  Unfortunately,  the  leading  clergy,  soon 
turned  againet  him,  rejecting  Him  with  contempt;  fos- 
tering bitter  animosities  and  nourishing  against  Him 
"ttie  most  virulent  hatred,  gangrene  jealousy,  and  dia- 
bolical prejudice  and-  eny\',  hell  could  possibly  manu- 
facture. Meanm^hile  His  friends  have  been  constantly 
multiplying  in  all  the  land,  becoming  bolder,  stronger 
and  more  convinced  that  He  is  veritably  the  Christ. 

Already  multitudes  have  been  pouring  into  Jerusa- 


254  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

lem  from  all  pointa  of  the  compass,  to  attend 
the  Passover,  wondering  in  their  minds  whether  Jesus 
would  be  there.  Then  the  triumphal  proces- 
sion entered  the  city  and'  the  Temple,  amid  shouts- 
going  up  like  the  roar  of  the  mighty  ocean.  All  classes 
were  clamorous  with  acckmations  of  praise  to  their 
KJing.  They  regarded  the  do^nke^^-ride  as  an  acceptance 
of  the  situation,  on  His  part,as  David  and  Solomon  rode 
on  moiles  when  they  were  crowned.  Thousands  gazed 
on  the  scene  with  electrified  enthusiasm,  expecting 
every  moment  to  see  Him  crowned  King  of  Israel.  Mark 
11 :11.  "And  Jesus  came  into  Jerusalem  and  into  the 
Temple;  and  looking  around  upon  all  things,  the  hour 
being  already  evening,  went  out  into  Bethany  with  the 
Twelve.  You  will  find  no  record  of  His  ever  having 
lodged  a  niglit  in  Jerusalem.  On  this.  His  last  visit.  He 
lod'ges  in  Bethany  Sunday  night  and  Monday  night  and 
Wednesday  night  ;spending  Tuesday  night  in  some  of  the 
villages  of  Mt.  Olivet ;  Thursday  night  in  Gethsemane 
and  Jerusalem,  in  the  hands  of  His  enemies;  Friday 
night  and  Saturday  night  in  Joseph's  new  tomb. 

*     THE  FIG  TREE. 

Mark  11 :12-19.  On  the  following  day,  having  come 
out  from  Bethany,He  was  hungr}-.  Seeing  a  fig  tree  afar 
off  having  leaves  He  came,  if  haply  He  should  find  any- 
thing thereon.,  and  having  come  to  it  he  found  nothing 
but  leaves  for  it  was  not  the  time  of  figs.  Jesus  respond- 
ing said  to  it;  "Let  no  one  ever  eat  fruit  from  thee," 
and  His  disciples  heard  Him.  This  incident  simply  ap- 
pertains to  the  humanity  of  our  Lord,  in  which  He  was 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.      1555 

like  other  people,  sin  excepted.  The  beautiful  foliage 
of  the  tree  indicated  a  high  state  of  vitality  and  argued 
in  favor  of  fruit  bearing.  It  was  too  early  in  the  year 
(April  11)^  for  the  fiof  harvest.  However  there  is  a 
species  of  fig  tree  in  that  country  which  retains  the  fruit 
all  winter  and  ripens  in  the  spring.  So  this  was  pre- 
sumed to  be  a  winter  fig  tree.  We  have  already  seen  in 
other  scriptures  that  the  fig  tree  emh-lematizes  the  Jew- 
ish people,  who  al  that  time  were  in  a  high  state  of  pros- 
perity,both  nationally  and  ecclesiastically ;  as  symbolized 
by  the  copious  foliage  of  this  tree,  while  really  they  were 
spiritually  dfead  and  destitute  of  the  fruit  of  holiness. 
(Romans  6  :22)  The  'Sudden  and'  h'opeless  withering  of 
•the  tree,  which  speedily  followed  the  anathemia  pro- 
nounced by  our  Lord,  vividly  symbolizing  the  awful 
castigatory  judgments,  coming  speedily  on  the  Jewish 
people,  during  the  invasions  of  the  Roman  armies. 

CLEANSING  OF  THE  TEMPLE. 

Mark  11:15-18.  "And  they  came  into  Jerusalem', 
and  Jesus,  having  come  into  the  Temple,  began  to  cast 
out  the  buyers  and  the  sellers  and  He  overturned  the 
tahles  of  the  mioney-ehangers  'and  the  seats  of  those  sell- 
ing doves;  and  He  did  not  permit  that  anyone  should 
earry  his  vessel  through  the  Temple.  And'  He  was  teach- 
ing, saying  to  them;  Is  it  not  wTitten,  My  house  shall  be 
called  the  house  of  prayer  to  all  nations  ?  but  you  have 
made  it  a  den  of  thieves.''  And  the  scribes  and  chief 
priests  heard  and  they  were  seeking  how  they  should  kill 
Him ;  for  they  feared  Him  because  the  whole  multitude 
were  delightd  with  His  teaehing.     Luke  21:37.     And 


266  Life  of  Jesus  and  Bis  Apostles. 

during  the  'day  He  was  teacliiiig'  in  the  Tfemple, 
GYeiy  night  he  wen't  out  and  lodged  in  the  Mount 
which  is  called  that  of  Olives.  And  all  the  people  were 
assembling  unto  Him  in  the  Temple  to  hear  Him.  You 
remember  He  cleansed  the  Temple  while  attending  the 
first  Passover,  entering  upon  His  Messianic  office,  by 
that  significant  act,  which  was  the  peculiar  prerogative 
of  the  high  priest  alone.  There  was  a  great  traffic  in 
sacrificial  animals,  which  Jews,  coming  from  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  would  purchase,  in  order  to  offer  their 
sacrifices.  The  money  exchange  was  also  an  important 
business,  as  none  but  Jewish  coins  were  received  in  the 
Temple  treasury;  and  the  Jews  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth  attended  these  festivals,  having  Greek  and  Eoman 
money,  which  must  be  exchanged  for  the  Hebrew  coins. 
The  reason  why  these  dealers  of  the  sacrificial  animals 
and  money  exchange  are  called  thieves,  is  because  Jesus 
knew  that  they  cheated  the  people.  If  you  cheat  a  man 
out  of  a  dollar,  you  are  a  condemned  thief  at  the  bar- of 
God.  These  two  cleansings  of  the  Temple  clearly  prove 
the  necessity  of  both  regeneration  and  sanctification,  so 
to  cleanse  the  heart,  which  is  symbolized  by  the  Temple, 
that  God  will  dwell  in  it  forever.  Our  Lord  is  also  go- 
ing to  cleanse  the  Temple  again  when  He  comes  in  His 
glory  ,thus  illustrating  the  third  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  the  heart ;  i.  e.,  glorification.  The  first  work  removes 
all  condemnation;  the  second  takes  away  depravity, 
while  the  third  and  last,  which  you  receive  in  death, 
sweeps  away  all  infirmity:  investing  you  with  angelic 
perfection ;  Christian  perfection  having  been  received  in 
sanctification. 


Thnlling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale,      25?. 

THE  POWER  OF  FAITH. 

Mai-k  11 :20-26.  "In  the  momimg,  going  along,  they 
saw  'the  fiig  tree  had'  been  withered  up  from  its  roots.  Pe- 
ter, remembering,  says  to  Him,  Rabbi,  behold  the  fig  tree 
which  you  execrated  is  withered  away.  Jesus  answering, 
says  to  them.  Have  the  faith  of  God.  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  Whosioever  may  say  to  this  m'ountadn,  Be  thou 
plucked  usp  and  east  into  the  sea,  and  m^ay  not  doubt 
in  his  heart,  but  belieye  that  those  things  which  he  says 
do  take  place,  it  shall  be  so  unto  him.  Whatsoever  ye  ask, 
praying,  believe  that  you  just  now  received  them,  and 
ye  sihall  h.ave  them." 

This  deliverance  of  our  Lord  on  the  snib- 
jeot  of  prayer  is  a  stunner  to  the  weak  faith  of 
the  church.  It  is  so  positive  and  clear  that  all  efforts 
to  explain  it  away  have  proved  abortive  in  all  ages.  The 
plucking  up  of  the  tree  and  casting  it  into  the  sea,  is  a 
physical  miracle,  illustrative  of  the  paradoxical  achieve- 
ments here  imputed  to  omnipotent  faith.  The  great  sa- 
lient and  culminating  affirmation  in  verse  24, — "All 
things  whatsoever  you  ask,  praying,  believe  that  you  just 
now  received  them,  and  they  shall  be  unto  you."  The  R. 
V.  says  "have  received  them,"  which  is  rather  too  strong, 
involving  the  liability  to  let  go  your  grip  and  rest  in  the 
hypothesis  that  you  already  have  the  blessing  you  ask, 
and  consequently  desist  from  seeking,  which  might  even- 
tuate in  utter  and  final  defeat.  The  E.  V.  "believe  that 
you  do  receive  them"  involves  the  liability  of  keeping  you 
florever  in  the  present  tense,  and  never  reaching  the  fin- 
ished expterien'ce.  'The  passage  is  really  difficult  to  trans- 
late, the  true  Greek  being  elahete,  in  the  second  a^rist 


258  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

tensse;  not  an  adequate  of  the  aorist  tens^^,  whidh  is 
performed ;  hence  I  translated  it  "believe  that  you  just 
now  received."  The  E.  V.  "have  received"  is  our  perfett 
tense,  which  is  not  an  adequate  of  the  aorist,  which  is 
not  in  the  English  language.  The  fact  is,  we  are  to  be- 
lieve that  the  answer  comes  contemporaneously  with  the 
petition.  Therefore,  when  we  truly  ask  in  faith,  while 
we  are  asking,  the  Lord  actually  does  it  instantaneously 
and  completely. 

HIS  AUTHORITY  QUESTIOXED. 

T.  27 :33.  Jesus  gave  himself  tremendmis  notoriety  by 
driving  out  all  those  buyers  and  sellers  and  money 
changers,  who  were  not  in  the  Temple  building,  but  on 
the  Holy  Campus,  all  of  which,  including  thirty-five 
acres,  was  denominated  "the  Temple."  In  the  ejectment 
of  these  people  with  their  sacrificial  animals  and  foreign 
money.  He  exercised  the  prerogative  peculiar  to  the  high 
priest  only.  Xow  you  observe  that  He  simply  refers 
them  to  the  baptism  of  John  for  His  authority,  illus- 
trating clearly  that  He  received  His  priestly  authority  by 
tlie  baptism  of  John.  You  see  He  here  catches  them 
in  a  dilemma  from  which  they  could  not  and  did  not 
extricate  themselves.  If  they  decided  that  John's  bap- 
tism was  not  from  God,  they  feared  an  uproar,  as  John 
was  so  very  popular  and  looked  upon  by  all  the  people 
as  a  prophet  senit.  from  God;  consequently  they  were 
afraid  that  the  multitude  would  stone  them.  If  they 
said  it  was  from  God,  they  knew  He  would  respond, 
'Then  why  did  you  not  believe  on  Him" ;  consequently 
the}'  simply  answered;,  "We  know  not" 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.       259 

THE    TWO    SONS. 

Matt.  21:28.  "But  what  think  ye?  A  man  had 
two  sons;  comfing  to  the  first  he  said,  Sion,  go  to-d'ay, 
work  in  the  vineyard.  And  he  responding  said,  I  am  not 
willing,  and  afterward:  repenting.,  he  departed.  And  hav- 
ing come  to  the  second  he  said  likewise.  He,  responding 
said,  aye.  Lord;  and  he  went  not.  Which  one  of  the  two 
did  the  will  of  the  father?  They  say  to  him.  The  first. 
Jesus  said  to  them.  Truly  I  say  unto  you,  that  the  Pub- 
licans and  Harlots  go  before  you  into  the  kiDgdom  of 
God.  For  John  came  to  you  in  the  way  of  righteousness 
and  you  believed  him  not;  but  the  Publicans  and  Har- 
lots believed  him,  but  you  seeing,  repented  not  afterward, 
in  order  to  belie\^e  him.' 

In  this  parable  the  Gentiles  are  the  first  to 
sin,  as  God  called  them'  two  thousand  years  be- 
fore He  called  the  Jews.  They  refused  from  the  start, 
proving  delinquent.  When  He  called  the  Jews  they  said, 
"All-rightywe  go,  but  afterward  proved'  unfaithful ;  while 
the  Gentiles  received  the  gospel,  and  after  a  refusal  of 
four  thousand  years,  went  and  did  nobly.  Here  we  see, 
while  looking  these  leading  preachers  and  church  officials 
in  the  face.He  says  the  Publicans  and  Harlots  go  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  before  you;  i.  e.,  they  are  more  easily 
saved  than  you  are.  This  is  everywhere  illustrated  this 
day  in  our  evangelistic  work.  Sliimites  are  more  easily 
reached  than  the  proud  formalists  occupying  the  prom- 
inent places  in  the  church. 

THE   WICKED  HUSBANDMEN. 

Matt.  V.  33-41.  The  vineyard'here  is  the  diureh,and'  the 


260  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles 

Jews,  to  whom  God  committed  it,  the  hu&bandmen.  They 
stoned  the  prophets,  cut  off  the  head  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist, and  crucified  God^s  own  Son.  The  result  was,  God 
vindicated  His  church,  His  prophets,  and  His  Son  by. 
sending  on  them  the  awful  retribution  of  the  Roman 
armies,  who  desolated  their  land  and  destroyed  their  city, 
slew  their  people  and  sold  them  into  slaver}^,  actually  an- 
nihilating the  Jewish  policy  forever. 

43.  "Therefore,  I  say  unto  you,  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  shall  be  taken  from  you  and  given  to  a  nation,bring- 
ing  forth  the  fruts  of  the  same."  This  is  a  demomstrative 
truth  of  the  identity  of  God's  church  in  all  dispensations, 
as  "kingdom"  here  can  mean  nothing  but  the  church, 
which  was  taken  from  the  Jews  and  given  to  the  Gentiles. 
The  vineyard  was  not  destroyed,  but  the  wicked  husband- 
men were  slain,  in  divine  retribution,  under  the  perfect 
administration  of  God,  for  the  awful  crime  of  killing 
His  servants  and  son. 

42.  "Jesus  says  to  them,  Have  you  never  i«ead  in 
the  Scriptures,  The  stone  w*hich  the  builders  rejected, 
the  same  has  become  the  head  of  the  comer?  And 
the  one  falling  on  this  stone  shall  be  dashed  to  pieces; 
and  on  whomsoever  it  may  fall  it  will  grind  him  to 
powder."  The  great  oriental  stone  buildings  are  sup- 
ported by  towers,  which  hold  the^m  steadfast  amid 
all  perturbation.  The  chief  corner-stone  (i.  e.,  the  head 
of  the  corner)  supports  this  tower.  Here  He  affirms 
that  every  one  falling  on  this  tower  shall  be  dashed  to 
pieces ;  i.  e.,  every  sinner  in  the  agony  of  conviction,  f  all_ 
ing  on  Jesus,  will  be  broken  all  to  pieces  and  reconstruct- 
ed into  a  new  creature;  thus  gloriously  saved.  While 
every  one  on  whom  this  tower  may  fall,  it  will  grind  him 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.       261 

to  powder :  i.  e.,  the  sinner  who  will  not  have  His  mercy 
is  compelled  to  receive  His  justice,  the  horrific  retribu- 
tion of  eternal  destruction. 

MARRIAGE  OF  THE  KING's  SON. 

Matt.  22  :l-l-i.  Heaven  is  described  in  the  Bible  as 
a  wedding  festival  in  perfect  bliss  and  ineffable  glory. 
moving  on  forever.  Hence  this  wedding  festival  began 
with  Abel  and  will  sweep  on  till  the  latest  posterity  of 
Adam's  race  shall  have  a  chance  to  respond  to  the  invita- 
tion and  sit  down  with  the  royal  guests.  "He  sent  his 
servants  to  call  those  who  had  been  invited  to  the  wed- 
ding, and  they  were  not  willing  to  come.''  The  old 
prophets  had  been  inviting  them  in  all  ages.  Eventually 
the  grand  culmination  supervenes  and  He  sends  His  Son 
into  the  world  to  enter  into  wedlock  with  His  blood- 
washed  bride.  Again  he  sent  other  servants,  saying, 
"Tell  those  who  have  been  called^BeholdJ  have  prepared 
my  dinner ;  my  oxen  and  my  f atlings  have  been  skugh- 
tered,  all  things  'are  ready;  come  ye  to  the  wedding." 
Xow  He  sent  John  the  Baptist  and  the  apostles  to  ex- 
tend them  an  especial  invitation.  "And  they,  being  care- 
less, went  away;  one  to  his  farm,  and  one  to  his  mer- 
chandise. The  rest  taking  his  servants,  insulted  and 
slew  them."  They  slew  John  the  Baptist  but  a  sihort  time 
before  this  utterance ;  Jesus  Himself,  only  two  days  af- 
terward, and  Stephen  and  many  others  at  a  very  early 
date.  "The  king,  hearing,  was  angry,  and  sending  his 
armies,  slew  thofe  murderers  and  burned  up  their  city.'* 
This  awful  prediction  was  utterly  fulfilled  in  the  terrible 
retributions  inflicted  on  those  very  people  and  their  city 


262  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Avostles. 

by  the  Roman  armies  within  the  lifetime  of  that  genera- 
tion. ''Then  he  says  to  his  servants,  Indeed  the  wedding 
is  ready,  but  those  having  been  invited  were  not  worthy. 
Go,  therefore,  into  the  crossings  of  the  highways,  and  so 
many  as  you  may  find,  call  to  the  wedding.  And  those 
servants  having  gone  out  into  the  ways,  continued  to  lead 
in  so  many  as  they  found,  both  bad  and  good,  and  the 
wedding  was  filled  wdth  guests.^' 

This  is  the  call  to  the  G-entiles,  verifying 
the  great  commission  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  nation,  giving  all  a  chance.  We  see  here 
there  is  no  difference  between  the  bad  and  the  good ;  i.  e., 
the  immoral  and  wicked,  reprobate  and  debauched,  and 
also,  the  morally  good  having  evoi  an  irreproachable 
(Character  in  the  estimation  of  the  world.  All  are  sinners 
b}'  nature  and  forever  lost,  unless  they  fly  to  Jesus  and  lay 
hold  on  the  infallible  atonement,  which  is  made  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world.  He  goes  on,  observing  that  the 
king  comes  in  to  look  upon  his  guests,  and  finding  one 
without  the  wedding  garment,  he  at  once  accosts  him, 
asking  him,. Friend,  why  comest  thou  in  hither  without 
the  wedding  garment  ?  Finding  him  doumb founded  and 
utterly  unable  to  give  a  reason  for  this,  he  ordered  his  ser- 
vant to  bind  him  hand  and  foot  and  cast  him  out  into  out- 
er darkness, w^here  there  shall  be  weeping  and  wailing  and 
gnashing  of  teeth.  The  wedding  garment  which  seems  so 
indispensable,  an  actual  sine  qua  non  to  a  place  in  heav- 
en, is  none  other  than  the  blood-washed  robe,  which 
Jesus  alone  can  give.  You  see  this  man,  dumib  witlh- 
out  it,  is  forcibly  illustrated  in  the  noisy  clamor  of  sancti- 
fied people,  and  the  observable  dumbness  of  the  unsanc- 
tified,  the  former  always  glad  of  a  chance  to  tell  of  the 


Thrilling  Events  Facilitating  the  Finale.      263 

wonders  of  the  cleansing  blood  and  exhibit  the  spotlees 
snow-white  robes  which  they  wear,  while  the  latter  re- 
mained: comparatively  reticent  in  our  testimony  meet- 
ings. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

FAREWELL  TO  THE  TEMPLE. 

The  Holy  Campus,  including  thirty-five  acres  of  land 
containing  the  Temple  of  King  Solomon  and  many  other 
miagndficent  buildings  and  a  camping  ground'  for  the  myr- 
iads of  Israel,  during  thoLr  great  national  festivals,  was 
sacred  to  the  people  of  Israel;  all  Gentiles  rigidly  pro- 
Ihihited  therefrom,  entering  it  on  penalty  of  dfeath,  was, 
through  all  ages,  to  the  children  of  Abraham,  an  earthly 
paradise,  the  symbol  of  Heaven.  Here  Jesus  began  His 
ministry  by  cleansing  the  Temple,  and  now  finishes  it 
by  a  second  cleansing,  confirmed  by  His  strong  and  con- 
tinuous preaching  those  three  days,  Monday,  Tuesday 
and  Wednesday. 

TRIBUTE    TO    CAESAR. 

Now  the  Pharisees  and  Herodians  suspend  their  no- 
torious and  irreconcilable  antagonism,  the  former,  being 
the  most  loyal  and  zealous  supporters  of  the  Mosaic  in- 
stitutions, and  the  most  rigid  devotees  of  the  Theocracy, 
and  the  rankest  enemies  to  the  Roman  government ;  and 
the  latter,  the  Roman  political  party,  not  only  support- 
ing, but  administering  the  Roman  government.  Like  the 
warring  sects  now-a-days,dropping  their  controversies  to 
unite  all  their  forces  against  the  holiness  movement,  so 
the  Pharisees  and  Herodians  (i.  e.,  dead  religion  and 
politics)  unite  against  Jesus.     They  lay  all  their  wits 

264 


Farewell  to  the  Temple.  265 

under  contribution  and  concoct  a  scheme  with  the  two 
horns  of  a  dilemma,  feeling  sure  they  will  gore  Him  with 
one  or  the  other.  They  proceed  to  interview  Him  in  ref- 
erence to  paying  tribute  to  Csesar.  If  He  answers  in 
the  affirmative,  the  Pharisees  are  ready  to  arrest  and 
bring  Him  before  the  Sanhedrim  for  disloyalty  to  the 
theocracy.  If  He  answers  in  the  negative,  the  Herodians 
are  ready  to  arrest  and  arraign  Him  before  Pilate,  un- 
der charge  of  disloyalty  to  the  Roman  government.  They 
feel  perfectly  sanguine  of  success,  apprehending  no  pos- 
sible escape  from  the  entanglement  into  which  they  are 
driving  Him.  How  they  are  dumbfounded  when  He 
simply  responds,  "Render  unto  Csesar  the  things  which 
are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things  which  are  God's." 
Mark  12  :13-17. 

THE  RESURRECTION. 

Matt.  V.  18-27.  Now  that  He  has  so  signally  dumb- 
founded the  leading  orthoidox  denomination  and  the  most 
influential  political  party,  .the  Saddoicees,  notorious  for 
their  heterodoxical  views  of  spirituality  'and  the  resurrec- 
tion, proceed  to  attack  Him.  with  «a  puzzle  which  they 
have  <con(?octedand  believeto  be  utterly  incompatible  wiiih 
the  problem  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  They  now 
present  their  enigma :  "There  were  seven  brothers  among 
us ;  one  of  them  married  a  woman  and  died ;  the  sec- 
ond brother  then  married  her  and  died;  and  so  the 
third,  fourth,  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh,  the  woman  sur- 
viving them  all.  Now  tell  us,  in  the  resurrection,  whose 
wife  shall  she  be,  for  they  all  had  her?"  (Luke  20:34). 
Jesus  responds,  "The  sons  of  this  age  marry  and  are 


266  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

given  in  marriage,  but  those  being  counted  worthy  to 
reach  that  age  and  the  resuTrection,  neither  mtarry,  nor 
are  they  given  in  marriage,  for  they  are  not  able  yet  to 
die ;  for  they  are  like  the  angels,  and  they  are  the  sons 
of  God,  being  the  sons  of  the  resurrection/ 

He  now  alludes  to  the  burning  bush,  when  God  said  to 
Moses,  "I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob."  Je- 
sus makes  this  argument  in  favorof  the  resurrection,  ob- 
serving that  He  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living ;  as  in  the  divine  estimation,  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob  were  all  living  at  the  time  God  spoke  to  Moses 
out  of  the  burning  bush.  Man  is  a  trinity,  consisting  of 
spirit,  mind  and  body.  Therefore  God  looks  upon  him 
in  his  integrity,  the  body  being  really  immortal  like  the 
soul,  death  being  only  a  sleep. 

SEXHOOD  PEOULIAB  TO  MORTALITY. 

We  see  from  our  Lord's  exegesis  of  the  resurrection, 
that  the  matrimonial  state  is  not  there  continued;  it  is 
simply  peculiar  to  this  life,  having  in  view  the  propaga- 
tion and  perpetuity  of  the  species.  In  Him  there  is 
neither  male  nor  female  (Gal.  3:26).  As  above  quoted, 
•in  the  resurrection  we  are  like  the  angels,  with  whom 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  sexhood.  In  the  resurrection 
the  body  is  transfigured  and  glorified  and  spiritualized, 
so  that  we  are  like  the  angels  who  have  no  mortal  bodies 

THE  TWO  GREAT  COMMANDMENTS. 

Mark  12 :28-34.  Jesus  is  here  interviewed  by  a  cer- 
tain theologian,  asking  Him,  "What  is  the  great  com- 


Farewell  to  the  Temple.  267 

mamdment  in  the  law?  And  Jesus. said  to  him,  Thou 
shialt  love  the  Lord;  thy  God'  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all 
thy  soul  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  first  and 
great  commandment.  The  second  is  like  unto  it,  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  On  these  two  com- 
mandments hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Much 
fanaticism  and  delusion  have  always  prevailed  on  keep- 
ing the  commandments,  leading  people  into  dead  ritual- 
ism and  dry  legalism.  Here  you  see  the  full  solution  of 
the  whole  problem;  Paul  tells  it  multum  in  parvo  (Rom. 
13  :10),  "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  Hence  you 
see  Jesus  and  Paul  settle  the  question,  that  the  com- 
mandments are  all  focalized  into  one,  and  that  is,  love. 
Then,  away  with  legalism,  with  all  its  forms  and  pihases 
and  boasted  pretension !  Love,  not  only  includes  all  the 
commandments,  but  ever}i;hing  required  by  the  law  and 
the  prophets.  Therefore,  if  you  have  the  divine  love  of 
regeneration  and  the  perfect  love  of  sanctification,  you 
really  have  it  all.  This  divine  love  is  the  very  essence 
:and  quintessence,  sum  and  substan-ce  of  Holy  Ghost  re- 
ligion. With  it  you  are  all-right,  and  without  it  you  are 
all  wrong.  It  is  not  indigenous  in  fallen  humanity, 
but  exotic,  "poured  out  into  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  is  given  unto  us"  (Rom.  5  :5). 

ENIGMA  OF  THE  CHRISTHOOD. 

V:35-37.  Here  Jesus  interrogates  them  how  Christ  is 
David's  Lord'  and  his  Son.  In  their  ignoranee  of  the 
two  natures  in  the  Christhood  (i.  e.,  the  divinity,  which 
is  the  eternal  God,  verily  David's  Lord;  and  the  hu- 
manity, which  is  really  the  lineal  posterity  of  David), 
they  are  puzzled  and  hopelessly  entangled, 


268  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

MINISTERIAL  AMBITION  AND  TYRANNY. 

Matt.  23  :1-12.  ^Then  Jesus  spoke  to  the  multitudes 
amd)  His  disciples,  saying,  The  Scribes  and  Phaj-isees  sit 
in  the  seat  of  Moses;  therefore,  all  things  whatsoever 
they  command  to  observe,  do  you  observe  and  perform, 
but  do  not  according  to  their  work,  for  they  say,  and  do 
not.  For  they  bind  burdens  heavy  and  difficult  to  be 
borne  and  place  them  on  the  shoulders  of  the  people; 
but  they  do  not  wish  to  touch  them  with  their  finger." 
History  repeats  itself  over  and  over  as  the  ages  roll  on. 
This  day  there  is  a  cry  of  oppression  going  up  to  God 
The  clergy  in  all  lands  laying  heavy  assesisments  on  the 
people,  in  which  they  themselves  do  not  participate,  but 
live  in  affluence,  like  princes  of  the  earth,  and  so  unlike 
the  penniless  followers  of  the  lowly  Nazarene.  "But  they 
do  all  their  works  to  be  seen  by  the  people.  They  broad- 
en their  phylacteries  and  enlarge  the  borders  of  their 
garments.''  They  love  the  first  couch  in  the 
feasts,  the  first  seats  in  the  synagogues,  and 
salutation  in  the  forums,  and  to  be  called  by  the 
people,  "Doctor,  Doctor."  "Be  not  called  Doctor,  for  one 
is  your  Teacher,  even  Christ;  and  you  are  all  brothers. 
Call  no  one  your  father  upon  the  earth,  for  one  is  your 
Father,  who  is  in  heaven."  Here  our  Savior  utterly 
sweeps  all  ministerial  ambition  from  the  field  of  gospel 
privilege  and  activity,  condemning  the  Protestant  doc- 
torate and  the  Eoman  Catholic  fathetrhood,  outright  and 
indiscriminately ;  recognizing  and  affirming  the  common 
brotherhood  of  God's  universal  family. 


Farewell  to  the  Temple.  269, 

Brethren!  all  who  disagree, 
That  should)  have  chari-ty  to  please  uisj 
Union  there  cannot  be, 
Unless  that  we  be  one  in  Jesus. 
One  as  He  is  one  in  God; 
In  spirit  and  in  disposition. 

This  the  Holy  Scriptures  teach ; 
'Tis  plain  without  an  exposition. 
Ambition  and  tyranny  dominate  over  the  clergy  this  day, 
as  in  by-gone  ages;   like  avenging  specters,  disseminat- 
ing trouble  and  sorrow,  cavil  and  confusion,  and  espe- 
cially in  opposition  to  'holiness,  everywli-ere  in  their  wake. 

WOES  PRONOUNCED  ON  THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES. 

V:13.  ^^OQ  unto  you  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites !  because  you  shut  the  kingdoan  of  heaven  against 
the  people,  for  you  do  not  enter  in,  neither  do  you  permit 
those  coming  in  to  enter."  If  the  leading  clergy  had  re- 
ceived Christ  and  His  gospel  under  the  preaching  of 
John  the  Baptist,  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Jewish  dhurch 
would  have  followed  like  sheep,  responsive  to  the  shep- 
herd^s  voice.  The  same  is  true  today;  if  the  leading 
preachers  of  different  denominations  would  receive 
the  holiness  movement,  which  is  Christ  in  the  abstract, 
the  members  would  follow  by  millions,  shake  the  earth 
by  the  tread  of  Zion'g  conquering  host;  move  on.girdling 
the  globe  with  salvation  and  holiness  to  the  Lord,  thus 
expediting  the  coming  of  our  King.  You  see  here,  that 
the  preachers  aotually  held  the  key  to  the  kingdom  of 
heaven;  i.  e.,  to  the  Lord's  great  salvation.  They  are 
the  custodians  of  the  precious  word  of  gospel  gracej; 


270  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

they  can  preach  it  "with  the  Holy  Ghost  from  heaven" 
and  lead  millions  into  the  kingdom,  or  explain  it  away 
or  otherwise  destroy  its  force,  and  thus  let  the  people 
drop  through  their  fingers  into  hell. 

THE  ALTAR  SANCTIFIETH  THE  GIFT. 

Matt.  V.  :19.  Christ  is  the  altar.  Heb.  13  :10.  When  we 
consecrate  all  to  Him,  known*  and  unknown,  present,  past 
and  future,  for  time  and  eternity,  then  we  have  nothing 
to  db  but  simply  believe  this  wonderful  assertion,  that 
the  altar  sanctifies  the  gift.  When  thus  fully  conse- 
crated, you  are  the  gift ;  therefore,  it  sanctifies  you. 

THE  WOES  ON  THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES. 

Matt.  V:23.  "Woe  unto  you  scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites !  because  you  tithe  mint  and  cinnamon,  and 
you  have  passed  by  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law;  of 
mercy,  jud^ne-ait  and  faith.  It  behooveth  you  to  do  these, 
■and  not  to  omit  those."  The  Jews  paid  their  tithes  in 
kindv  extending  thereto  everything  they  produced,  even 
garden  vegetables  and  all  sorts  of  fruits.  While  Jesus 
commends  the  verification  of  the  tithe  law  in  every  rami- 
fication, He  terrifically  anathemaitizes  them  for  neglect- 
ing the  weightier  matters  of  the  law;  i.  e.,  judgment,  in- 
cluding the  whole  problem  of  justification,  doctrinal,  ex- 
perimental and  practical ;  including  the  pardon  of  actual 
trans:gression,  acquitted  from  all  the  claims  of  the  viola- 
ted law,  which  supervenes  in  entire  sanctificfation ;  and 
the  final  and  eternal  absolution  of  the  gifit  for  sin;  actual 
and  original,  before  the  final  judgment  bar. 

Mercy  is  tiie  normal  fmit  of  love,  whidi  the  law  of 


Farewell  to  the  Temple.  271 

the  Lord  constantly  demands,  exhiibitorj-  of  that  deep, 
abiding  and  amiable*  grace  ddspen&ed  by  ithe  Holy  G'host 
to  all  faithful  and  obedient  souls;  while  the  beautiful 
grace  of  faith  actually  underlies  the  entire  superstruc- 
ture of  the  U'ew  creation. 

V  :24.  "Ye  blind  guides,  straiMng  out  the  gnat,  'but 
swallowiing  the  'Camel."  Here  our  Savior  sets  forth 
the  glaring  inconsistency  of  the  leading  preachers  and 
church  rulers  in  His  diay,  magnif}^nig  externals;  (i.e., 
ceremonial  purity)  and  minifying  internals;  i.  e.,  the 
deep  spirituality  of  the  redemptive  economy.  The  gnat 
and  the  camel  are  both  unclean  animals,  the  former  the 
smallest,  and  the  latter  the  largest  in  that  country.  The 
poor,  blind,  religious  guides,  both  clerical  and  laical,  were 
so  punctilious  in  the  o^beervanee  of  the  law  appertaining 
to  clean  and  unclean,  that  they  were  very  particular  to 
strain  the  wine  and  milk  which  they  drank,  lest  there 
might  be  a  gnat  somewhere  in  it.  Then  what  is  the 
meaning  of  swallowing  down  the  camel?  Why,  the 
camel  is  the  largest  animal  in  all  that  country,  and  un- 
clean, according  to  the  law  of  Moses,  and  here,  emblem- 
atizing the  awful  wickedness  of  those  people,  amid  all 
the  religious  zeal.  While  they  are  particular  about 
things  which  are  of  no  value  (i.  e.,  like  swallowing  the 
gnat,  which  would  not  hurt  them),  yet  they  are  so  lax  and 
delinquent  in  reference  to  the  real  essential  of  salva- 
tion, that  they  are  going  down  to  hell  and  leading  the 
people  with  them.  To  swallow  a  camel  would  be  cer- 
tain and  irretrievable  destruction ;  i.  e.,  death  and  dam- 
nation. We  find  this  same  glaring  inconsistency  preva- 
lent this  day;  i.  e.,  the  prominent  church  leaders  ex- 
ceedingly punctilious  and  imperative  about  non-essen- 


272  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

lials,  while  they  neglect  the  great  subject  of  experimental 
and  practical  holiness,  forgetting  that  G-od  says,  "With- 
out holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord"  (Heb.  12:14). 

Matt.  V.  27.  "Woe  unto  you  scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites !  because  you  are  like  whitened  sepulchres 
which  are  indeed  beautiful  without,  but  within  they  are 
full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  all  impurity.  Even  as  you 
also  appear  to  men,  without,  indeed  righteous, 
but  within  you  are  full  of  hypocrisy  and 
iniquity."  What  awful  preaching  to  the  lead- 
ing preachers  and  ruling  elders  of  the  church !  You  say 
that  is  not  the  state  of  things  now.  Beware  that  you  do 
not  mistake.  Humanity,  the  devil,  sin,  the  world,  law, 
truth  and  G^od;  and,  we  may  r-lso  add,  Satan,  are  uni- 
form in  all  ages.  The  Bible  is  our  looking-glass,  in 
which  we  see  men,  angels  and  devils  as  they  really  are. 

29.  "Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites !  because  you  build  the  tombs  of  the  fathers  and  or- 
nament the  sepulchres  of  the  righteous,  and  you  say.  If 
we  were  in  the  day  of  our  fathers  we  would  not  be  par- 
takers with  them  in  the  blood  of  the  prophets.  So  you 
testify  to  yourselves  that  you  are  the  sons  of  those  who 
murdered  the  prophets,  and  you  fulfill  the  measure  of 
your  fathers.  Ye  serpents,  generations  of  vipers,  now" 
can  you  escape  from  the  damnation  of  hell  ?"  This  aw- 
ful preaching  in  the  faces  of  the  leading  clergy  and  laity 
of  the  proud,  popular  church,  enraged  them  into  parox- 
ysms of  animosity,  till  they  literally  thirsted  for  His 
blood.  Thus  He  beards  the  lion  in  his  den,  despite  his 
roaring  and  gnashing  his  teeth,  making  them  so  awfully 
mad  that  they  never  rested  until  they  saw  Him  nailed  to 
the  cruel  cross. 


Fareiuell  to  the  Temple.  273 

'^^Therefore,  bdiold,  I  send'  umto  you  prophets, 
■wise  men  and-  scribes;  some  of  them  you  will  kill  and 
crucify  and  scourge  in  your  synagogues  and  persecute 
from  city  to  city;  in  order  that  all  the  righteous  blood 
shed  upon  the  earth,  from  the  blood  of  the  righteous 
Abel  unto  the  blood  of  Zacharias,  the  ison  of  the  blessed. 
(Not  Barachias,  as  in  E.  Y.  Barachias  is  a  Hebrew 
word  which  means  blessed.  Zacharias  was  not  the  son 
of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Barachias,  but  he  was  the  son 
of  Jehoiadab,  the  priest  "wiio  was  a  true,  godly  man,  and 
hence  called  "blessed,^'  2  Chron.  24:22)  whom  you  slew 
between  the  temple  and  the  altar.  Yerily  I  say  unto  you. 
all  these  things  shall  come  upon  this  generation. 

'This  was  awfully  verified  in  the  diestruction  of  Jeru- 
salem; during  which,  those  very  priests  and  ruling  eld- 
ers, to  whom-  He  preached  this  awiful  sermon,  perished 
most  miserably  by  sword,  pestilence  and  famine,  V.  37. 
Oh,  Jerusalem !  Jerusalem !  thou  that  slayest  the  proph- 
ets and  stonest  them  that  were  sent  unto  thee !  how  fre- 
quently would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together  in 
the  manner  in  which  a  hen  gathereth  her  brood  under 
her  wings  and  ye  were  not  willing!  Xever,  in  all  the 
ages  since  creation's  dawn,  did  people  enjoy  privileges  so 
ample,  wonderful  andj  heavenly  as  those  very  Jerusalem- 
ites.  If  they  had  received  their  own  Christ  with  appre- 
ciative hearts.  He  would  not  only  have  filled  them  with 
Heaven  on  Earth,  but  have  honored  them  above  all  the 
people  in  the  whiole  world;  making  them  ithe  heralds  of 
the  heavenly  kingdom,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
All  this  and  infinitely  more  than  we  can 
think  or  imagine,  did  they  forfeit  by  rejecting  Christ. 
V.  38.     Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate. 


274  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles.    - 

A.  D.  &&.  Gallus  Celcius^the  Eoman  general,  laid  siege 
to  Jerusalem,  followed  in  A.  D.  68  by  the  Emperor  Ves- 
pasian, wiho  was  succeeded  by  his  son  'Titus  in  A.  D.  70. 
who  prosecuted  the  war  to  its  awful  end  in  A.  D. 
73,  not  only  desolating,  but  depopulating  the  land;  a 
million  of  Jews  perishing  by  sword,  pestilence  and  fam- 
ine; a  million  more  sold  into  slavery,  till  the  market  was 
glutted  with  all  nations  and  no  one  would  bury  them. 
Finally  the  surviving  remnant,  and  mighty  host  were  led 
captive  to  Rome  and  committed  to  imperial  servitude 
and  used  to  build  the  great  coliseum,  the  largest  build^ 
ing  in  the  world,  1,800  feet  in  circumference,  and  160 
feet  high,  solid  stone  wall  up  to  the  eave; — ^the  grand 
Imperial  Thefatre.  "For  I  say  unito  you,  you  can  see  me 
no  more,  until  you  can  say.  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord/^ 

Two  years  ago  I  was  in  that  country  and  was  in- 
formed by  good  authority,  that  there  were  fifty-five 
thousand  Je\vs  in  Jerusalem  alone,  and  two  hundrecl 
thousand  in  Palestine.  When  I  was  there  in  1895,  there 
were  only  one  hundred  thousand  in  all  the  land.  Ten 
years  pTeviously  there  were  only  ten  thousand ;  while  in 
1874  there  were  only  five  thousand.  The  wondierful  stir 
which  the  Zionist  is  now  making  among  the  children  of 
Abraham  in  every  icountry  under  heaven,  having  for  their 
object  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Land,  is,  in  connection 
with  the  rapid  and  abundant  immigration,  pouring  in 
from  every  country  under  heaven,  exceedingly  ominous 
of  the  Lord's  speedy  return  to  the  earth.  I  trow  when 
He  comes  to  take  up  His  bride.  He  will  so  reveal  Himself 
to  His  consanguinity,  as  to  awaken  a  wonderful  convic- 
tion among  the  Jews,  especially  those  gathered  in  the 


Farewell  to  the  Temple.  275 

Holy  Land,  Zacharias,  the  propihet,  says  two  parts;  i.  e., 
two-thirds  of  those  gathered  in  Palestine,  will  be  cut  off 
during  the  tribulation;  thus  eliminating  the  unsavable 
element;  meanwhile,  the  elect  third,  Rom.  11,  will  get 
saved,  sanctified,  and  so  filled  with  the  Spirit,  that  they 
will  enjoy  the  immortal  honor,  verifying  this  prophecy  of 
our  wonderful  Chrisit;  i.  e.,  meeting  Him  W'ith  a  shout; 
saluting  Him,  "Bfeloved,  brother  Jesus,  Shiloh  of  pro- 
phecy, Eedeemer  of  Israel,  Messiah  of  God  and  Savior  of 
the  world !"  thus  crowning  Him  King  of  Israel  in  the 
succession  of  their  father,  David.  Thus  the  Lord  wound 
up  His  ministry  in  the  Temple  where  He  preached  so 
much  and  wrought  so  many  miracles. 

THE  widow's  mite. 

Mark  12:41-44.  Having  spent  these  three  days 
preaching  to  the  vast  multitudes  assembled  on  the  Holy 
Campus  in  front  of  Solomion's  Temple,  and'  finished  his 
work  there,  bidding  them  adieu ;  thrilling  them,  with  the 
prophecy,  that  when  He  comes  again  they  will  receive 
Him;  i.  e.,  the  same  Jewish  people,  after  the  ingress 
and  egress  of  many  generations.  Walking  out,  halting  in 
front  of  the  treasury  office  and  seeing  many  rich  people 
throwing  in  their  exuberant  contributions,  a  poor  widow 
comes  along  and  throws  in  two  mites  (i.  e.,  3-4  cts.),  thr? 
full  amount  of  her  estate.  Jesus,  in  the  exercise  of  His 
ominiscience,  recognizes  her  great  liberality  in  giving  all 
she  had  and  pronounces  on  her  the  'highest  encomium ; 
certifying  that  she  'has  cast  in  more  than  all  the  balance. 
We  miust  remember  God  is  not  poor.  He  says,  'If  I  were 
hungry  I  would  not  tell  you.     The  cattle  upon  a  thous- 


276  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

and)  hills  are  mine."  So  go  away  with  your  strawberry 
festivals  andi  ice-cream  suppers.  T'hey  are  an  insult  to 
God. 

THE  WISE  MEN  OF  THE  WEST  COME  TO  SEE  JESUS. 

John  12  :20.  "And'  'there  were  certain  Greeks  among 
those  that  went  up  to  worship  during  the  feast  When 
they  came  to  Philip,  who  was  from  Bethsaida;  and  asked 
him  saying,  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus.  Philip  cometh  and 
ttelleth  Andrew,  and  they  tell  Jesus.''  '  When  He  was 
bom  in  Bethlehem,  the  wise  men  of  the  East  came,  ac- 
knowledged and  worshipped  Him.  Thirty-three  years 
have  rolle'd  away.  The  time  of  His  departure  has  ar- 
rived. Here  we  see  that  the  wise  men  of  the  West  rep- 
resenting Europe  and  America;  as  those  of  the  East, 
represented  Asia  and  Africa,  have  come  to  salute,  hear, 
acknowledge  and  worship  Him  as  He  is  winding  up 
His  work  and  bidding  the  world  adieu.  These  Greeks 
were  proselytes  of  the  gate,  being  Gentiles  and  not  hav- 
ing passed  through  the  regular  proselytic  modus  operari' 
dij  necessary  to  change  them  from  Gentiles  into  Jews. 
As  it  was  a  penalty  of  death  for  a  Gentile  to  put  his  foot 
inside  of  the  Holy  Campus,  they  often  came  during  the 
great  feasts,  (i.  e.,  camp-meetings),  and  worshipped 
without  the  gate.  There  are  only  two  gates  througk 
which  we  can  now  enter  the  campus,  the  west  gate  and 
the  north  gate,  the  Beautiful  Gate  entering  the  east,  in 
use  at  that  time,  is  now  closed  and  has  been  1260  years, 
ever  since  the  Mohammedans  conquered  the  country  and 
captured  Jerusalem ;  in  consequence  of  a  Moslem  proph- 
ecy, that  their  power  will  fall  at  Jerusalem  the  very  hour 


Farewell  to  the  Temple.  277 

that  gate  is  opened.  These  Greeks  had  come  to  the  gate 
to  worship,  during  (the  Passover.  A  beautiful  and  con- 
solatory truth  is  evolved  in  the  coming  of  the  wise  men 
of  the  East,  at  the  beginning  of  our  Savior  s  earthly  life, 
and  the  wise  men  of  the  West  at  the  -close,  omens  of  the 
inspiring  prophecy  that  He  is  to  girdle  the  world  in  Wis 
arms,  and  His  glory  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea.  V.  23.  Jesus  responded  to  them  saying; 
"The  hour  has  come  that  the  Son  of  man  may  be  glo- 
rified. Truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  you,  except  a  grain  of 
wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and!  die,  it  rem-aineth  alone ; 
but  if  it  die,  it  produceth  much  fruit/-' 

This  truth  enunciated  in  our  Lord^s  sermon 
to  the  Greeks  is  at  once  deep  and  comprehensive.  They 
were  the  most  learned  people  in  the  world.  So  this  pro- 
found preaching  was  "v^^ll  adapted  to  them.  This  fact 
in  agriculture  is  patent  to  every  farmer.  When  the  wheat 
is  'Sowed,  if  rain  does  not  come  sufficient  to  rot  the  grain, 
the  crop  will  be  a  failure.  It  will  sprout,  but  soon  die^ 
the  last  hope  of  bread,  evanescing  forever.  The  starch 
constituting  the  bulk  of  the  grain  is  transformed  into 
sugar,  when  there  is  sufficient  moisture  to  decompose, 
i.  e.,  rot  the  grain.  When  it  first  germinates,  the  young 
sprout  is  too  delicate  to  appropriate  its  living  from  the 
soil.  Consequently  it  is  dependent  on  the  starch  in  the 
grain,  for  deeomposition  and  the  'development  of  sugar 
to  nourish  it  till  the  spongioles  reach  dowTi  and  absorb 
nutriment  from  the  soil.  This  truth  beautifully  eluci- 
dates the  gracious  economy.  In  regeneration,  the  new 
life  is  germinated  in  the  heart.  Then  if  the  old  body 
of  sin  does  not  die,  i.  e.,  sanctification  does  not  super- 
vene, the  new  life  wiJJ  evanesce.     When  Sampson  slew 


378  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  lion^  he  soon  found  the  carcass  full  of  honey  and 
he  went  along  eating  it.  So  the  young  convert  needs 
honey  to  eat.  If  he  does  not  get  it  he  starves  to  death. 
Oh,  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  souls  in  the  popular  churches 
at  this  point !  They  get  converted  and  do  not  get  sanc- 
tified. Consequently  they  hackslide.  V.  25.  "He  that 
loveth  his  soul  shall  lose  it,  but  he  that  hateth  his  soul 
in  this  world  shall  preserve  it  unto  eternal  life."  The 
sinner  has  but  one  soul,  and  that  is  a  bad  one.  The 
sanctified  man  has  but  one  soul  and 'that  is  a  good  one. 
The  unsanctified  Christian  is  James'  double  soul 
(Gr.,  E.  v.,  double-minded)  man.  In  regenGration  this 
bad  soul  with  which  we  were  born,  i.  e.,  the  carnal 
mind;  is  conquered,  and  grace  given  -to  keep  it  dfown. 
In  sanctifioation  the  old  soul  (i.  e.,  the  carnal  mind)  is 
taken  away,  leaving  the  new  soul  (i.  e.,  the  mind  of 
■Christ)  "monarch  of  all  He  surve}^s,"  and  His  rights  dis- 
puted by  none. 

While  Jesus  was  preaohing  this  beautiful 
truth  at  the  gate,  a  voice  like  thunder  came  from 
Heaven  saying,  "I  glorified  thee  and  will  glorify  thee 
again."  Jesus  left  his  glory  to  come  down,  suffer  and 
die.    When  He  returned  to  Heaven  He  received  it  again. 

THE  MAGNETISM  OF  CHRIST. 

31.  "Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world;  now  the 
Prince  of  this  world  shall  be  oast  out,  and  if  I  may  he 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  I  will  dnaw  all  people  toward 
raysielf."  The  vicarious  offerings  and  dearth  of  Christ, 
really  perfected  the  plan  of  salvation,  satisfying  the 
violated  law,  utterly  removing  the  necessity  for  the  dam- 


Farewell  to  the  Temple.  279 

nation  of  any,  eternally  blockading  the  gates  of  hell  from 
all  penitent,  believing  souls,  and  throwing  wide  the  por- 
tals of  Heaven  to  every  resiponsive,  appreciative  heart. 
Consequently  it  utterly  defeated  the  devil  and  cast  him 
out,  after  a  reign  of  four  thousand  years  over  the  world, 
almost  without  a  rival.  His  ejectment  began  at  Calvary, 
and  has  been  going  on  ever  since,  to  be  finally  consum- 
mated when  the  Lord  comes  in  His  glory,  arrests  him 
and  takes  him  out  of  the  world. 

The  crucifixion  of  Christ  is  a  great  and  universal 
magnet,  drawing  every  human  soul.  This  is  the  grand, 
salient  truth  superscribed  on  the  gospel  banner  o-f  free 
grace  and  dVing  love  for  every-  human  being  in  the  world. 
Hence  it  is  the  battle  cry  "of  every  gospel  meeting.  While 
this  is  true  and  sweetly,  gloriously  and  triumphantly 
consolatory,  yet  we  mnst  not  dwarf  the  gospel  by  mak- 
ing it  one  sided.  God  saves  no  man  till  he  want&  to  be 
saved.  Salvation  means  the  utter  destruction  and  eternal 
dlamnation  of  all  sin  and  the  desire  for  purity,  paramount 
to  every  other.  You  see  I  do  not  give  the  E.  V.  transla- 
tion of  this  passage,  ''will  draw  all  men  to  me.''  The 
word  translated  "to''  is  pros,  the  first  meaning  of  which 
is  toward.  The  rule  of  translation  is,  to  use  the  first 
meaning,  if  it  is  in  harmony  with  the  context. 

While  Jesus  is  the  great  Magnet  of  a  dying  world, 
wielding  a  wonderful  drawing  power,  yet  He  draws  no 
one  to  Him,  but  only  toward  Him.  If  the  human  will 
reciprocates  the  d'rawing,  the  soul  will  soon  me^t  Him 
and  get  saved.  If  he  is  not  willing  to  forsake  all  sin, 
abandon  himself  unreservedly  and  eternally  to  God,  he 
will  go  down  to  hell  despite  all  the  magnetism  of  Cal- 
vary. He  winds  up  His  sermon  to  his  Greek  audience  by 


280  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

some  beautiful  allusions  to  the  fact  that  He  is  the  Light 
of  the  world,  and  all  His  true  followers,  the  sons  of 
the  Ligtbt.  Y.  36.  Jesus  spoke  these  things,  and  having 
gone  away  was  hidden  from  them.  This  is  Wednesday 
and  early  in  the  afternoon.  The  next  two  days  are  un- 
d'erstood  from  time  immemorial,  as  the  preparation  for 
the  Passover,  the  greatest  of  all  Jewish  festivals.  An 
extraordinary  enthusiasm  has  invaded  all  Israel  and 
much  of  the  Gentile  world,  focalizing  in  this  Passover, 
accompanied  by  the  anticipation  on  the  part  of  many, 
that  He  T\dll  certainly  be  crowned  King  of  the  Jews. 
The  multitudes  who  shouted  Him'  Veleome^  on  the  pre- 
ceding Monday  as  He  rode  into  Jerusalem  on  the  donkey, 
had  w^aited  these  three  days,  spellbound  by  His  w^onder- 
ful  preaching,  and  in  constant  anticipation  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  crown  Him.  King.  Consequently,  He  finds  it 
necessary  to  rid  Himself  of  this  eagerly  waiting  throng, 
as  frequently,  hitherto  referred  to,  by  rendering  Himself 
invisible. 

JUDICIAL   BLINDNESS   OF    THE   JEWS. 

37-41.  He  having  done  so  many  miracles  in  their 
presence,  yet  they  were  not  believing  on  Him,  in  order 
that  the  word  of  Isaiah,  the  prophet,  may  be  fulfilled, 
which  he  spoke,  "Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  report  and 
to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed?  AVlierefore 
were  they  not  able  to  believe  ?  Because  Isaiah  said,  they 
have  blinded  their  eyes  and  hardened  their  hearts,  in 
order  that  they  may  not  see  with  their  eyes  and  under- 
stand with  their  heart,  and  turn  and  I  may  heal  them." 

This  illustrates  tihe  fact,  tihat  w^hen  we  reject  light 


Farewell  to  the  Temple.  28.1 

and  prefer  darkness,  God  takes  it  away,  leaving  us  to  iaQ 
darkness  of  sin  and  folly.  The  Jews  had  a  vastly  more 
terrible  responsibility  than  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  or 
T^Te  and  Sidon,  which  were  destroyed  for  their  wicked- 
ness. That  is  the  rea&on  \^•hy  it  was  actually  necessary 
to  destroy  the  Jew;  the}'  had  sinned  against  light  so 
bright  and  knowledge  so  glorious,  that  they  were  past 
redemption.  The  antediluvian  rejected  God  the  Father 
and  perished  in  the  flood;  the  Jews,  God  the  Son,  and 
were  destroyed  by  the  Eom-ans;  while  pursuant  to  the 
prediction^  of  Jesus  and  other  prophets,  and  other  tes- 
taments, a  similar  and  awful  punishment  is  coming  on 
the  Gentiles  for  reje-cting  the  Holy  Ghost.  To  our  sor- 
row, we  see  it  moving  apace. 

WHY  THE  RULERS   DID   NOT   PROFESS   HIM. 

V.  42.  "Moreover,  indeed,  many  of  the  rulers  also  be- 
lieved on  Him,  but  they  were  not  confessing  Him  on  ac- 
count of  the  Pharisees,  in  order  that  they  might  not  be 
put  out  of  the  synagogues;  for  they  loved  the  glory  of 
men  more  than  the  glory  of  God."  How  signally  do  we 
this  day  see  a  repetition  of  this  sad  history !  Multitudes 
of  church  leaders  in  the  different  denominations  are  now 
believing  in  sanctifieation  by  second  work  of  grace,  as 
taught  in  the  movement,  and  would  gladly  seek,  find  and 
profess  their  experience,  if  they  were  not  afraid  of  trou- 
ble with  their  churches,  depreciation,  financial  retribu- 
tioii  and  actual  ejectment. 

A  prominent  presiding  elder  in  Texas,  whom 
I  well  know,  took  a  sanctified  preacher — a  pastor  in 
his  district — ^^away  into  the  woods  in  his  buggy  and 
had  him  pray  for  his  sanctifieation  till  one  p.  m.  Then 
jturning,  he  said  to  him,  "I  see  the  whole  matter ;  for  me 


282  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

to  get  sanctified,  I  must  lose  my  place  in  the  Conference 
and  take  chances  for  a  living/'  He  had  a  large  family 
and  a  salary  of  $1,800.  At  a  subsequent  date,  when 
a  bishop  presided  over  the  Conference  and  advised  them 
to  put  all  of  the  sanctified  preachers  out  of  it,  this  very 
presiding  elder  prosecuted  the  preacher  who  had  spent 
the  night  of  prayer  with  him  at  his  own  request;  ar- 
raigned him  before  his  Quarterly  Conference  and  drove 
him  out. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

JUDGMENT   SERMON    ON    MT.    OLIVET. 

Jesus,  having  dielivered  His  farewell  sermon  in  the 
Temple,  terribly  condemnatory  of  the  clergy  'and  ecclesi- 
astical officials;  holding  others  at  the  gate  and  preaching 
to  the  Greeks,  responsive  to  their  appeal  through  Philip 
and  Andrew;  evading  the  enthusiasm  of  the  multitude 
to  crown  Him  King  by  rendering  Himself  invisible  and 
thus  disappearing ;  as  the  afternoon  goes  on,  is  found  by 
His  disciples  sitting  on  Mt.  Olivet  and  contemplating 
the  city  and  the  Temple,  of  which  He,  in  His  position, 
enjoyed  a  conspicuous  view.  Then  He  proceeds  to  de- 
liver that  wonderful  sermon  on  His  second  coming,  ex- 
pounding the  judgments  of  the  Jews,  the  Grentiles,  and 
the  final  adjudication  at  the  end  of  time.  Out  of  the  Jew- 
ish judgments  the  Christians  are  delivered;  out  of  the 
Gentile  judgments,  the  Bride  of  Chrisit  is  dielivered.  In 
the  final  judgment  all  nations  stand  before  the  Great 
White  Throne.  This  notable  sermon  of  our  Lord  is  re- 
corded by  Matthew,  Chaps.  2-i  -and  26;  Mark  13  and 
Luke  21.  "He,  sitting  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  in  front 
of  the  Temple,  Peter,  James,  John  and  Andrew  asked 
Him,  'T^ll  us  when  ^hall  these  t?hings  be  ?  And  what  the 
sign  of  thy  coming?  and  of  the  end  of  the  age  (not  the 
end  o'f  the  world,  as  E.V.,but  the  end  of  the  Gentile  age). 
H^e  now  proceeds  to  warn  them  against  the  false  Christ 
who  would  soon  appear,  thus  notifying  them  so  they 
would  not  be  shaken  by  the  bold  pretensions  which  these 

283 


2 8 J:  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

false  claimants  were  going  to  make,  Matt.  5:10.  Then 
many  will  be  offended,  and  will  betray  one  another  and 
hate  one  another.  And  many  false  prophets  will  arise 
and  deceive  many.  And  |)eeause  iniquity  doth  abound, 
the  love  of  many  will  wax  cold.  But  he  that  persevereth 
to  the  end>  the  same  shall  'be  saved',  and  this  gospel  of 
the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  tes- 
timony to  all  the  Gentiles ;  and  then  the  end  shall  come. 
Those  prophecies  of  our  Lord  have  been  signally  ful- 
filled in  all  their  -aspects,  through  the  intervening  ages : 
while  a  hundred  millions  of  martyrs  have  sealed  their 
faith  with  their  blood.  There  is  only  one  point  in  these 
prophecies,  in  reference  to  whose  fulfillment,  we  are  not 
sure ;  and  tlrat  is  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  all  na- 
tions. Five  years  ago  the  best  information  seemed  to 
confirm  the  conclusion  that  the  gospel  had  reached  every 
nation  except  Thibet  and  Eangoon,  China ;  and  Soudan, 
Africa.  Since  that  time  it  has  been  carried  into  these 
nations.  Consequently  the  argument  decisively  favors 
the  conclusion,  that  there  is  no  nation  on  the  earth 
known  to  geographers,  which  has  not  received  the  gos- 
pel. It  must  be  preached  into  them  sufficiently  for  it  to 
witness  their  condemnation,  in  case  that  they  reject  it. 
Of  this  witness,  God  is  the  only  Judge.  In  the  glorious 
millennial  reign,  the  Lord  will  rule  the  world  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  saints  constituting  His  bride. 
Therefore  it  is  necessary  that  every  nation  have  a  chance 
for  a  place  in  the  bridehood,  as  the  nations  will  all  sur- 
vive the  tribulation,  and  continue  in  their  respective 
places  on  the  earth,  during  the  millennial.  The  preva- 
lence of  false  prophets  in  the  world,  the  rapid  decline  of 
spirituality    in    the    churches    and    the    unprecedented 


Judgment  Sermon  en  Mt.  Olivet 285 

spread  of  the  gospel  among  the  heathens,  constitute 
prominent  fulfillment  of  these  latter-day  prophecies 
delivered  by  our  Savior. 

JEWISH  TRIBULATION. 

V.  15-22.  "Then  when  you  may  see  the  abomination 
of  desolation,  spoken  of  by  the  Prophet  Daniel,  standing 
in  the  holy  place,  let  him  that  readeth  know,  then  let 
those  who  are  in  Judea  fly  to  the  mountains;  and  let 
not  him  who  is  in  the  housie  come  down  to  take  any 
thing  out  of  his  house ;  and  let  not  him  who  is  in  the 
field  turn  back  to  take  his  garments.^'  After  the  cru- 
cifixion of  Jesus,  Marchochab  and  others  arose,  claiming 
to  be  Christ,  leading  multitudes  after  them  and  keeping 
the  whole  country  in  revolutionary  agitation,  evoking 
the  threats  of  the  Emperors  ever  and  anon,  and  finally 
culminating  in  such  antagonism  to  the  Roman  govern- 
ment, that  the  Emperor  undertook  to  put  down  the  re- 
bellion, sending  an  army,  A.  D.  66,  under  Gallus,  who 
was  succeeded,  A.  D.  67,  by  Vespasian,  and  he  in  A.  D. 
70  by  Titus,  who  prosecuted  the  war  until  73,  character- 
istic of  Roman  despotism,  to  ride  or  ruin,  finally  succeed- 
ing in  capturing  Jerusalem,  the  most  impregnable  city  in 
the  world,  having  endured  a  siege  of  seven  awful  years ; 
meanwhile,  a  million  perished  by  sword,  pestilence  and 
famine,  and  a  million  more  were  sold  into  slavery,  and 
the  residue  led  captive  to  Rome  and  made  slaves  of  the 
Crown  and  forced  to  build'  the  Great  Coliseum.  Jesus, 
in  this  sermon,  gives  His  disciples  the  information  they 
neede-d,  to  escape  from  the  awful  doom  of  the  city. 
When  the  victory  finally  oanie  and  the  Romans  effected 
an  entrance  through  the  walls,  they  proceedied  at  once,  to 


2S6  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

take  possession  of  the  Holy  Campus  from  which  the 
Gentiles  had  been  prohibited  from  time  immemorial,  by 
penalt}'  of  death.  Therefore,  when  they  saw  the  Eoman 
battleflags  floating  over  that  holy  plateau  on  Mt.  M'Oriah. 
it  was  a  signal  to  them  to  fly  from  the  city  at  once.  For 
reasons  we  cannot  explain,  but  on  a  hypothesis  of  divine 
intervention,  the  Roman  armies  permitted  the  Christians 
to  escape.  Here  Jesus  utters  a  sympathetic  wail  in  be- 
half of  the  women  who  were  so  incumbered  as  to  render 
their  escape  very  difficult.  "Pray  that  your  flight  may 
not  be  in  a  storm,  nor  on  the  Sabbath  day.''  Jerusalem 
has  no  winter  in  our  sense;  but  is  subj'ect  to  violent 
etorms,  because  of  its  proximity  to  the  great  sea. 

When  I  was  there  in  1899,  a  great  storm  swept  over 
the  Mediterranean,  reaching  Jerusalem  with  so  much 
violence  that  it  was  Yery  difficult  to  stand  on  foot,  to  say 
nothing  of  travel.  On  the  Sahbath  day,  the  gates  of  the 
city  were  generally  closed,  rendering  it  impossible  to  es- 
cape. "For  then  there  will  be  great  tribulation,  such  as 
has  not  been  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  till  now, 
neither  may  ever  be ;  and  if  those  days  were  not  shorten- 
ed, no  flesh  was  saved;  but  foT  the  sake  of  the  elect,  those 
days  will  be  shortened." 

The  elect  of  Israel,  with  wihom  all  latter 
d'ay  prophecies  will  be  fulfilled,  were  there,  as  some 
of  the  elect  of  grace.  Will  not  the  Gentile  tribula- 
tion 'equal  this  in  se\^rity?  I  trow  not;  because  the  Eo- 
mtans  exterminated  the  Jews  of  their  country,  kill- 
ing, selling  into  slavery  and  leading  into  captivity  all  of 
them ;  which  will  not  be  the  case  in  the  Gentile  tribula- 
tion, which  will  only  destroy  the  unsavable  who  have 


Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet.  287 

comonitted!  the  un'pardonable  sin,  crossed  the  dead  line 
and  are  past  redemption. 

Acts  3  :26.  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every  one 
who  -will  not  hear  that  Pro*phet  shall  be  cut  off  from 
the  people/' 

Luke  21 :23.  "For  there  shall  be  great  distress  upon 
the  earth,  and  wrath  unto  this  people.  And  they  shall 
fall  by  the  edge  of  the  'sword  *andi  shell  be  led  captives 
into  all  nations ;  and  Jerusalem  dhall  be  trodden:  do^wn  by 
the  Gentiles,  until  the  tinnes  of  'the  Gentiles  may  be  ful- 
filled." 

Jerusalem  is  still  trodden  down  by  the  Gen- 
tiles; yet  it  seems  that  their  times  are  rapidly 
rushing  to  their  final  fulfillment.  This  is  a 
problem  now  puzzling  the  chronologists  of  all  nations. 
There  is  no  way  by  which  we  can  measure  time,  except 
by  the  revolution  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Conse- 
quently we  have  three  distinct  systems  of  Chronology; 
that  of  the  moon,  that  of  tlie  planets  and  tlnat  of  the  sun. 
If  we  take  the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  we  will  find  the  in- 
terregnum of  Nebuchadnezzar  during  his  insanity,  sym- 
bolic of  Gentile  parenthesis  in  the  theocracy.  In  these 
prophecies  the  year-day  system  is  constantly  recognized ; 
e.  g.,  chap.  9,  Daniel  says  it  will  be  seventy  weeks  from 
the  return  of  the  Jews  out  of  Babylonian  captivity,  "till 
Messiah  be  cut  off.''  History  develops  the  fact  that  it  was 
just  four  hundred  and  ninety  years  from  the  founding 
of  the  Temple  till  Christ  was  nailed  to  the  cross,  thus 
proving  the  year-day  system.  Lunar  time  has  354  days 
in  the  year;  Calendar,  360,  and  Solar,  365;  354x7-2478, 
360x7-2530,  365x7-2555.  These  numbers  represent  the 
Gentile   times   in  their  respective    Chronologies.     The 


288  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Gentile  times  began  with  the  fall  of  Jenisalem  under 
Nebuchadnezzar,  B.  C.  587.  Therefore  587x1901-2488, 
the  time  which  has  already  expired  during  the  Gentile 
reign.  2488-2478-10,  showing  iip  the  fact  that  accord- 
ing to  Lunar  Chronology,  the  Gentile  times  have  already 
expired  and  ten  years  more.  2520-2488-32,  showing  up 
the  fact  that  according  to  the  planetary  time  there  are 
yet  32  years  of  the  Gentile  period.  2555-2488-67.  There- 
fore you  see  that  67  years  sftill  remain  to  complete  the 
Gentile  period  according  to  Solar  chronology.  Now  we 
find  in  Dan.  12  :12  the  tribulation  will  last  1338-1290-45 
years.  Therefore,  according  ^to  Lunar  Chronology  45x10- 
55,  the  tribulation  is  already  over  due  these  55  years. 
45-32-13  years,  the  time  the  tribulation  is  over  due  ac- 
cording to  Calendar  Chronolog}\  67-45-22  years  till  the 
tribulation  is  due  according  to  Solar  Chronology.  Hence 
you  see  the  substantial  concurrence  of  all  the  Chronolo- 
gies, confirmatory  of  the  conclusion,  that  the  Gentile 
time  is  just  now  -expiring,  when  Jerusalem  will  be 
trodden  down  by  the  Gentiles,  and  polluted  by 
Mohammedan  idolatries;  but  the  children  will  again 
pitch  their  tents  on  the  Holy  Campus,  into  which  it  is 
now  a  death  penalty  for  a  Hebrew  to  put  his  foot,  and 
the  wandering  will  return  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  to 
the  land  of  their  paternity,  the  heritage  which  God  be- 
queathed unto  them  through  their  father  Abraham. 
The  wonderful  gathering  of  the  Jews  back  to  Jerusalem, 
already  constiftuting  a  majority  of  the  population,  is  a 
thrilling  confirmation  of  these  wonderful  fulfillmentr 
of  these  prophecies. 


Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet.  280 

SIGNS  OF  HIS  COMING. 

Matt.  23.     ^^Tihen  if  any  one  may  &ay  to  you,  Lo! 
here  is  Christ  or  there;  believe  not.    For  false  prophets 
aiwJ  false  Ohrist-hoods  arise  and  will  give  nmnysign.s  and 
wonders,  so  as  to  deceive,  if  possible,  the  elect.   Behold  I 
have  told  you  beforehand."    False  prophets  abound  this 
day,  perverting  the  word  of  God,  leading  thousands  after 
them  and  giving  them  an  easy  passport  through  their 
fingers  into  hell ;  and  sJome  are  false  Christs.    I  have  met 
them,  and  heard  of  others  by  reliable  information.   The 
warning  our  Savior  gives  us,  if  heeded,  will  fortify  us 
against  all  these  false   claimants.     The   elect  are  the 
truly  sanctified  people ;  (Peter) .  Here  you  see  that  there 
is  a  possibility  of  deceiving  them,  along  with  the  carnal 
multitud'es  to  'their  eternal  ruin.  '"TlTeTef  ore,  if  they  may 
say,  Lo,  He  is  in  the  desert,  go  not  out.    Lo,  He  is  in  the 
secret   chambers,    believe   not.     For   as   the   lightning 
Cometh  from  the  east  and  appeareth  even  unto  the  west, 
so  shall  be  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man."  Oh,  the  in- 
finite value  of  God's  word!   It  literally  meets  every 
emergency  and  settles  it  beyond  the  possibility  of  contro- 
versy.    Here  you  see   our   Lord   perfectly   fortifies  us 
against  the  slightest  probability  ♦f  being  deluded  by  any 
of  these  false  Christs;  as  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  them 
to  command  the  signs  here  specified;  i.  e.,  the  lightning 
out  from  the  east  and  sweeping  in  sheets  of  flame  across 
the  firmament  and  illuminating  all  the  western  horizon 
with  the  gorgeous  glory  of  a  zigzag  beauty.    Hence  you 
see  this :  th^-  normal  sign  of  our  Lord-'s  appearing  is  ut- 
terly uncounterfeitable.    For  where  the  carcass  is  there 
tiie  eagles  will  be  gathered  together.    The  carcass  here 


290  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

symbolizes  the  political  and)  ecclesiastical  d'eterioration 
and  deaths  wftiich  supervenes  as  a  normal  consequence  of 
the  stenchy  putrefaction  which  develops  in  human  insti- 
tutions as  the  ages  roll  on ;  e.  g.,  the  antediluvian  world 
became  diseased  more  and  m'ore  till  death  spread 
from  pole  to  pole  and  wrapped  her  in  watery  winding 
sheets.  So  it  was  with  Judaism,  politically  and  ecclesi- 
astically, getting  more  and  more  putrescent  and  stenchy, 
till  the  Roman  eagles  (for  the  eagle  was  the  national 
symbol  and  pictured  on  every  battle  flag),  attracted  by 
the  stenchy  odor,  came  to  the  banquet  of  carrion.  In  a 
similar  manner  the  whole  Grentile  world  is  now  sinking 
into  diilap/idlation,  politically  and  ecclesiastically,  yielding 
to  deeper  and  more  hopeless  corruption,  destined  to  work 
out  revolution,  disintegration  and  ruin;  exhibiting  the 
sad  phenomenon  of  a  loathsome  corpse ;  putrefaction  al- 
ready under  headway,  manifested  in  the  appalling  cor- 
ruption of  church  and  state ;  and  already  scenting  up  the 
vultures,  (which  belonged  to  the  eagle  species,  represent- 
ing the  destroying  angels  of  Daniel  7  :9-14,  who  will 
come  down  with  t/he  Ancient  of  Days,  to  execute  ven- 
geance on  a  wicked  world  and  fallen  church;  (Rev.  19: 
17)  the  angel  sitanding  on  the  sun  and  calling  to  all  the 
voracious  birds  and  beasts  to  come  and  feast  on  human 
flesh.  V.  29. 

And  immediately  after  the  desolation  of  those 
days,  the  sun  will  be  daricened,  the  moon  will  not 
give  her  light,  and  the  stars  will  fall  from  heaven,  and 
the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken.  The  E.  V. 
which  translates  this  passage  "tribulation^'  is  reprehen- 
sible ;  as  it  leads  the  reader  to  conclude  that  it  means  the 
Gentile  tribulation,  which  is  not  correct.    It  means  the 


Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet.  291 

desoktion  of  the  Holy  Land,  which  the  Romans  wrought 
A.  D.  66-73,  in  the  seven  years  of  Jewish  tribulation. 
This  desolation  which  has  resited  on  the  land  like  a  night- 
mare,through  all  the  intervening  centuries,  is  now  rapid- 
ly evanescing  under  the  return  with  wealth  and  enter- 
prise of  the  J'ews,  who  are  reviving  with  wonderful  ra- 
pidity, all  the  ancient  cities,  causing  the  memories  of 
by-gone  ages  to  grow  green,  and  rise  once  more  into 
glorious  realities.  This  is,  to  me,  the  most  signal  and  in- 
contestable sign  of  the  Lord's  near  approach.  The  dark- 
ening of  the  sun  and  moon  and  falling  of  the  stars  has 
here,  as  in  Isaiah  and  Joel,  a  symbolic  signification,  em- 
blematizing the  fall  of  the  secular  powers  in  all  the 
earth ;  the  sun  typifying  the  kings,  the  m'oon,  the  queens, 
the  stars,  the  subordinate  rulers.  V.  30.  "Then  will  ap- 
pear the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  in  the  sky ;  and  all  the 
nations  and  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  will  see  the  Son 
of  man  coaiiing  in  the  cloud's  of  Heaven,  with  great 
power  and  glory.'' 

The  sign  here  mentioned  is  something  different  from 
the  Son  of  Man  Himself,  who  appears  soon  afterwards. 
Much  inquiry  has  been  raised  in  reference  to  what  this 
sign  will  be.  It  will  evidently  be  homogeneous  to  the 
sign  of  Hisi  first  coming ;  which  was  a  star  appearing  to 
the  wise  men  of  the  East.  I  trow  it  will  be  none  other 
than  the  splendor  of  His  personal  glory,  shining  out  be- 
fore Him ;  perhaps  radiating  forth  in  brilliant  scintilla- 
tions, millions  oi  miles,  attracting  the  attention  of  the 
world,  and  evoking  the  investigations  of  scientists  in 
every  natio-U';  devising  theories  to  explain  it  on  the 
hypothesis   of   astronomy,   electricity,   magnetism   and 


392  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

dynamite;  pronouncing  it  the  grandest  aurora  borealis 
tlie  world  has  ever  seen. 

Meanwhile,  an  awful,  paralyzing  pall  will  come  on 
them  all,  as  the  glorified  Jesus,  in  the  splendor  of  His 
unutterahle  personal  majesty,  shall  burst  upon  multi- 
plied millions  of  human  faces  turned  skyward;  when 
a  unanimous  weeping  and  wailin^g  will  break  out 
simultaneously,  from  the  countless  host,  gazing  upon  the 
sioene,  from  every  land  and  clime. 

V.  31.  "Then  will  He  send  forth  His  angels  with  the 
greait  sound  of  the  trumpet,and  they  will  galiher  His  elect 
from  the  four  winds,  from  the  extremities  of  the  Heav- 
ens unto  the  extremities  of  the  same."  Here  we  see  the 
rapture  of  the  saints. 

Peter  says,  "We,  elect  through  sanctification  of 
the  Spirit."  So  be  sure  you  are  truly  sanctified 
through  and  through,  as  it  is  only  in  this  way  you 
can  make  your  calling  and  election  sure.  What  a 
wonder  that  every  intelligent  Bible  reader  is  not  striving 
for  a  place  among  the  elect,  so  as  to  secure  a  participa- 
tion of  the  rapture  of  the  saints,  here  and  elsewhere,  so 
clearly  and  unmistakably  specified.  Luke  5  :28.  "And 
these  things  beginndng  to  take  place,  straighten  up  and 
lift  up  your  heads,  because  your  redemption  is  nigh." 

Eedemption  here  means  the  rapture  and  transfigura- 
tion of  the  saints.  From  the  hour  the  Lord  ascended 
into  Heaven  from  Mt.  Olivet,  the  widowed  church  haa 
been  bowed  down  with  grief,  waiting  in  longing  expect- 
anc}^  the  return  of  her  Heavenly  Spouse.  So  Luke,  here 
describes  her,  bowed  down  with  grief,  over  the  absence 
of  her  Lord,  praying  God  to  send  Him  back;  put  the 
devil  out  of  the  world  and  give  her  the  promised  do- 


Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet.  293 

minion.  Now  that  these  thrilling  phenomena  flood  the 
world  with  the  glorious  realization  of  the  1900  years' 
prayer,  abundantly  answered  in  the  return  of  the  Lord, 
on  the  Throne  of  His  Glory;  the  buried  saints  rising 
with  shouts,  and  the  living  translated,  and  all  mount- 
ing up  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air. 

Matt.  5:32.  "Learn  a  parable  from  the  fig  tree; 
when  her  branch  is  already  tender  and  she  putteth 
forth  leaves,  know  that  the  summer  is  nigh;  and  you, 
when  you  may  -see  all  these  things,  know  'that  it  is  at  the 
door.  Truly  I  say  unto  you,  this  race  cannot  pass  away, 
until  all  these  things  may  be." 

The  fig  tree  here,  -emblematizes  the  Jewish  nation. 
They  are,  at  that  time,  in  a  high  state  of  prosperity, 
manifested  by  the  full  foliage,  but  destitute  of  spiritual 
fruit.  Therefore,  under  the  divine  anathema  it  withered 
away;  i.  e.,  the  Eoman  armies  desolated.  Here  our 
Lord  certifies  that  it  can  never  pass  away,  till  all  the 
prophecies  relative  to  it  are  fulfilled.  While  all  other 
races  have  disappeared  among  them,  even  mighty  Eome, 
at  that  time  filling  the  whole  earth ;  yet  the  Jews,  though 
driven  from  their  home  among  the  nations  and  wander- 
ers upon  the  face  of  the  eairth,  (have  to  the  astonishment 
of  the  whole  world,  survived  a  thousand  revolutions, 
and  still  exist,  a  distinct  nationality,  the  puzzle  and  the 
enigma  of  all  the  earth. 

Mark  says:  "Concerning  that  day  or  hour,  no 
one  knows,  not. even  the  angels  nor  the  Son,  except 
the  Father.  While  the  chronologies  and  the  copious 
prophetic  signs  inundate  us  with  the  assurance 
that  the  Lord  is  very  nigh;  yet  the  diversities  of  the 
Chronologies  disqualifies  anyone  to  know  the  day  or  the 


294  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apocstles. 

hour.  Boubtless  the  Son  knows  it  now,  whereas  at  that 
time,  in  His  humiliation,  as  it  was  a  long  way  off,  it  was 
not  revealed  to  His  humanity.  The  date  at  that  time 
was  so  distant  that  it  was  not  important.  The  fact,  His 
Divinity  constantly  saw,  in  glorious  panorama,  moving 
before  Him. 

Matt.  37.  "But,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noah, 
so  shall  he  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man;  for 
as  they  were  in  the  days  before  the  flood,  eating  and 
drinking,  and  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until 
the  day  on  which  Xoah  entered  into  the  Ark,  and  they 
knew  not  until  the  flood  came  and  took  them  all  away ; 
so  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  be.  Then  tw^o 
men  shall  be  in  the  field;  one  is  taken  and  one  is  left. 
T'wro  women  grinding  at  the  mill;  one  is  taken  and  one 
is  left.  In  case  of  Xoah^  the  Ark  symbolizes  the  cloud 
in  w^hich  the  Lord  will  come  and  receive  His  saints  out 
of  this  wicked  world,  leaving  all  the  balance  to  take 
chances  in  the  great  tribulation.  The  two  men  in  the 
field  and  the  two  women  at  the  mill,  the  one  taken  and 
the  other  left,  vividly  sets  forth  the  rapture.  The  wild 
rush  of  the  wx)rld  on  business  lines,  heedless  and  im- 
provident of  the  awful  ruin  hastening  to  meet  them, 
is  forcibly  emblematized  by  the  blind  world,  regardless  of 
Noah's  -w-arning  a  hundTed  and  twenty  years  before,  - 
rushing  into  the  devouring  deluge. 

Mark  33.  "Look  out,  watch  and  pray,  as  a 
m'an  going  on  a  journey,  leaving  his  house  and 
giving  authority  to  his  'servants,  and  giving  each  one 
his  w^ork  and  commanding  the  porter  that  he  should 
watch.  Watch,  therefore,  for  you  know  not  when  the 
Lord  of  the  house  cometh,  late  or  at  midnight,  or  at  the 


Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet.  295 

crowing  of  the  cock,  or  in  the  morning ;  lest  having  come 
suddenly,  he  may  find  you  sleeping.  AVhatsoever  things 
I  say  to  you,  I  say  to  all,  watch !" 

The  porter  here  means  the  preacher  or  leader,  or  any 
person  occupying  a  conspicuous  and  responsible  place 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Jesus  commands  him  espec- 
ially, and  'all  others,  to  be  on  the  constant  lookout  for  His 
appearing.  The  comm^andment  actually  appears  five 
times  in  these  four  sentences,  utterd  by  our  Lord.  In 
this  wonderful  sermon  on  His  second  coming.  He  is  par- 
ticular to  specify  all  the  hours  in  which  people  are  like- 
ly to  sleep ;  e.  g.,  the  long  evening  hours,  midnight  and 
the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  These  deliverances  of 
our  Savior  utterly  annihilate  the  post-millennial  view 
of  His  coming;  as  such  a  hypothesis  utterly  disqualifies 
its  advocates  to  be  constantly  watching ;  looking  for  and 
expecting  Him  to  appear;  as  they  believe  that  the  mil- 
lennial of  a  thousand  years  must  come  and  go  before 
the  Lord  appears.  WTien  a  theory  or  a  doctrine  contra- 
dicts Jesus,  as  you  plainly  see  and  know  in  this  case, 
there  is  no  more  room  for  controversy.  You  are  bound 
to  abandon  it  as  false.  Luke  34.  "But  take  heed  to 
yourselves  lest  your  heart  be  burdened  with  luxury  an-d 
drunkenness  and  the  cares  of  this  life,  and  that  the  day 
may  come  on  you  unaw^ares.'' 

Shall  we  not  all  heed  this  warning  of  our 
blessed  Savior?  Excessive  eating  and  drinking, 
and  burdensome  cares  of  this  fleeting  life,  drag  us 
down  from  the  hig'h  plane  of  the  pure,  spiritual  atmos- 
phere, above  the  clouds  and  storms,  where  Jesus  walks 
an-d  talks  with  the  heavenly  pilgrims  about  things  im- 
mortal, spiritual  and  celestial.     If  you  would  be  truly 


296  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

spiritual,  you  must  not  brutalize  yourself  by  excessive 
eating,  nor  diabolize  yourself  by  strong  drink,  tobacco, 
opium  nor  any  other  filthy  drug.  Oh,  how  we  could 
glorify  Grod  and  save  the  heathens  with  the  money  which 
we  uselessly  expend  on  our  bodies,  to  our  spiritual  detri- 
m^ent !  "For  as  a  lasso  it  will  come  upon  all  the  people 
who  are  sitting  down  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Watch 
iiherefore,  praying  all  the  time,  in  order  that  you  may 
be  counted  worthy  to  escape  all  these  things  tha.t  are 
about  to  take  place  and  to  stand  before  the  Son  of 
Man.'^ 

Our  Savior  exhorts  us  to  be  so  constantly  and  in- 
tently w^atching  for  Him,  that  we  will  be  standing  up 
with  our  loins  girded,  'staff  in  hand  and  lights  burning, 
ready  every  moment  to  go  right  out  to  meet  Him. 
Whereas,  He  here  announces  a  terrible  woe  on  the  people 
who  are  sitting  down ;  i.  e.,  resting  in  carnal  security.  He 
says  thiat  awful  day  will  catch  them,  like  the  lasso,  which 
the  robber  suddenly  drops  over  tlie  head  of  the  traveler, 
and  drags  him  to  death  and  robs  him.  You  find  no  other 
commandment  so  frequently  repeated  by  the  infallible 
Christ,  as  "Watch !"  which  sim<ply  means  to  be  on  the 
constant  lookout  for  His  appearing.  This  very  con- 
stant expectancy  of  the  Lord^s  return,  is  the  greatest  of 
all  inspirations  to  a  holy  experience  and  life.  Therefore, 
holiness  to  the  Lord  and  the  constant  outlook  'and  readi- 
ness for  His  appearing,  constitute  the  battle-cry  of  Em- 
manuel's militant  hosts.  There  are  two  oars  to  the  full 
salvation  boat,  by  which  we  row  over  time's  stormy  ocean 
and  miake  good  our  safe  landing  on  the  happy,  golden 
shore.  Matt.  43.  "Know  this,  if  the  landlord  knew  at 
what  watch  the  thief  cometh,  'he  would  have  watched  and 


Judgment  Sermon  §n  Mi.  Olivet,  297 

not  suffered  his  house  to  be  broken  into.  Therefore,  be 
ye  always  ready,  for  you  know  not  at  what  hour  the  Son 
of  man  cometh." 

Who,  then,  is  the  faithful  and  wise  servant,  whom 
his  lord  appointed  over  his  household,  to  give  them  their 
food  in  season  ?  "Happy  is  that  servant  whom  his  lord, 
having  come,  will  find  so  doing.  Ttuly  I  say  unto  you,  he 
will  appoint  him  over  all  his  possession."     The  Lord  is 
coming  back  to  this  world  to  steal  away  His  bride.  Hence 
to  slumbering    church    and  wicked    world   (also    fast 
asleep).  His  coming  is  like  that  of  the  thief,  at  mid- 
night.   His  coming  to  the  bride   is  that  of  her  glorious 
Heavenly  Lover.     Here  you  see  that  all  who  are  not 
watching  for  Him  will  get  into  awful  trouble,  indicated 
by  having  their  "houses  broken  into."    Here  we  see  that 
the  wise  and  faithful    servant  whom    the  Lord  has  ap- 
pointed, does  give  the  food  to  inmates  of  His  house  in 
season.     What  is  this  food?     It  is  simply  "lioliness  to 
the  Lord" ;  i.  e.,  entire  sanctification  and  constant  vigi- 
lance for  His  appearing.    He  also  here  certifies  that  the 
one  whom  He  finds  thus  watching  is  happy ;  i.  e.,  blessed, 
and  He  assures  us  that  He  will  appoint  him  over  all 
His  possessions;   i.  e.,  promote  him  to  glorious  and  im- 
mortal honors  and  emoluments  in  the  coming  kingdom. 
(v.  48.)     "But  if  that  wicked  servant  may  say  in  his 
heart,  my  Lord  delayeth  His  coming,  and  may  begin  to 
smite  his  fellow  servants  and  eat  and  drink  with  the 
drunken,  the  Lord  of  that  servant  will  come  in  a  day  in 
^MQh  he  does  not  expect,  and  in  an  hour  in  which  he 
does  not  know,  and  will  cut  him  off,  and  appoint  him  his 
part  \\ith  hypocrites;    and  there  shall  be  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth."    This  man   is  none  other  than  a 


^98  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

preacher  in  high  standing,  living  in  royal  splendor  on 
money  wrung  from  the  people  by  heavy  assessment's,  and 
tyrannical  enforcements  of  what  he  calls  the  laws  of  the 
church,  which  it  has  made  without  divine  authority; 
which  he  enforces  unscrupulously  through  his  sycophan- 
tic officials,  fleecing  the  pockets  of  the  poor  'and  ro'bbing 
the  heathens  out  of  the  dollars  which  should  go  to 
them  as  their  legitimate  pro-rata  of  the  four 
thousand  assessment.  So  this  man  stands  at  the  front, 
honored  and  appreciated  as  a  metropolitan  pastor  and 
celebrated  'as  a  star  preacher ;  a  candidate  for  the  episco- 
pacy and  all  other  honors,  till  the  Lord  comes;  reveal- 
ing his  true  character — ^all  these  years  a  counterfeil, 
false  prophet.  So  He  takes  him  out  of  his  place  and 
sends  him  to  hell  where  he  belongs.  N.  B.  The  promi- 
nent charge  against  this  man  in  this  connection  is  that 
he  says,  "My  Lord  delayeth  His  coming.'^  Here  Jesus 
simply  affirms  in  this  paragraph  that  the  true  preacher 
preaches  the  great  spiritual  truths  of  salvation ;  i.  e.,  re- 
generation and  sanctifieation,  and  emphasizes  the  com- 
ing of  the  Lord,  with  exhortation  to  all  His  people  to  be 
ready  and  on  the  constant  outlook. 

JUDGMENT  OF  THE  BRIDE. 

Matt.  25  :l-30.  In  these  two  beautiful,  rich  and 
glorious  parables  Jesus  sets  forth  the  judgment  which 
must  be  verified  in  case  of  all  who  enjoy  membership  in 
the  bride-hood  and  a  place  in  the  cloud  when  the  Lord 
honors  His  people  with  the  glorious  rapture.  Through- 
out the  Bible  the  church  is  symbolized  by  a  pure  wo- 
man, and  the  counterfeit  church  by  a  harlot.     Bo  here 


Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet.  299 

we  have  the  representative  number  ten,  which  is  the 
multiple  of  hundreds,  thousands,  millions.  ...  All 
getting  their  lamps  lighted ;  i.  e.,  their  souls  regenerated 
and  illuminated  from  heaven ;  i.  e.,  truly  and  gloriously 
converted  and  set  out  to  meet  the  bridegroom ;  i.  e.,  be- 
come true  pilgrims  on  the  heavenly  highway,  bound  for 
the  land  of  bright  glory.  ^N'ow  a  crisis  arises,  develop- 
ing a  division — ^h'alf  and  half.  Five  of  them  receive  light 
on  the  infinite  importance  of  a  second  work  of  grace. 
Therefore,  they  get  their  vessels ;  i.  e.,  their  hearts  filled 
with  oil — i.  e.,  the  Holy  Ghost ;  thus  providing  an  ample 
supply  ad  lihitum  to  replenish  their  lamps,  as  they 
travel  on  their  journey,  so  as  to  keep  them  in  good 
trim — alwaj^s  burning  brightly:  the  other  five  faiie^J 
to  realize  the  necessity  of  carrying  with  them  this 
ample  supply  of  oil.  IST.  B.  The  latter  five  are  denom- 
inated "foolish"  by  the  infallible  Jesus,  for  no  con- 
ceivable reason,  but  because  they  neglected  to  get  their 
vessels  filled  with  oil.  The  solution  is  so  plain  that  the 
most  simple  child  will  see  it.  Lighting  the  lamp  is  re- 
generation; filling  the  vessels  with  oil  is  sanctification. 
Hence  you  see  every  regenerated  person  who  neglects 
sanctification  is  not  only  called  "foolish"  but  is  "fool- 
ish," from  the  simple  fact  that  Jesus  can  neither  tell  a 
lie  nor  make  a  mistake. 

God  help  you  to  show  this  thrillingly  im- 
portant truth  to  all  you  meet  in  your  pilgrim- 
age. There  is  no  dodging  the  issue.  To  deny  the 
fact  and  the  infinite  importance  of  the  second  work  of 
grace  in  the  face  of  this  scripture  is  to  flatly  contradict 
Jesus.  Our  lam]>s  out  (E.  V.)  is  not  correct.  The  Greek 
sbeununtai,  being  in  the    present  tense,  and    correctly 


300  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

transkted  are  going  out.  A  lamp  that  is  going  out  is 
not  yet  ont,  but  burning  low,  and  much  needing  a  fresh 
supply  of  oil.  These  foolish  virgins  are  not  sinners,  but 
Christians  in  a  low  state  of  regeneration,  for  all  who 
neglect  sanctification,  either  retrograde  into  spiritual 
dwarfhood  or  die.  These  foolish  virgins  represent  all 
the  unsanctified  Christians  in  the  world,  when  the  Lord 
comes  for  His  bride.  "Wihile  the  Bridegroom  tarried 
they  all  nodded  and  slept  ;^^  i.  e.,  the  wise  nodded  and 
the  foolish  slept.  Enustaxan ;  (slumbered,  E.  Y. ,  is 
more  correctly  translated,  nodded,  as  that  is  the  first 
meaning  of  the  word.  This  illustrates  the  great  impor- 
tance of  preaching  frequently  on  the  Lord's  coming, 
as  it  is  the  most  potent  preventive  of  those  sleepy  spells 
which  are  wont  to  come  on  all,  even  the  sanctified.  The 
better  class  of  Christians  realize  an  ebb  and  flow  in 
their  spiritual  wakefulness;  a  tendency  to  become 
drowsy,  and  give  way  to  nodding,  ultimately  develop- 
ing into  actual  slumber.  "Midnight"  has  only  a  sym- 
bolic meaning  here,  typif}dng  the  deep  sleep  which 
"will  everywhere  wrap  the  wicked  world  and  the  fallen 
church,  when  the  Lord  returns,  to  steal  away  His  Bride. 
We  see  in  the  protest  of  the  wise,  refusing  to  give 
the  foolish  some  of  their  oil,  that  none  of  us  have  any 
grace  to  spare,  but  all  need  every  iota  of  the  grace  Grod 
gives  them.  The  wise  virgins  who  rank  as  holiness 
evangelists  in  the  parable,  exhort  them  to  sell  and  pur- 
chase for  themselves.  They  do  go,  and  there  is  not  an 
intimation  that  they  n-ever  can  get  it.  The  trouble  cul- 
minating in  their  case,  was  that  they  were  too  late,  and 
consequently  the  Bride  having  been  admitted  into  the 
marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb,  the  foolish  virgins  could 


Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet,  301 

not  enter.    We  can  not  afford  to  be  "wise  above  what  is 

written/' 

Eev.  20:4.  "And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat 
upon  them,  and  judgment  was  given  unto  them,  and  I 
saw  the  souls  of  those  who  had  been  beheaded  for  the 
witness  and  for  the  word  of  God,  who  did  not  worship 
the  beasts  nor  his  image,  nor  did  receive  the  mark 
upon  their  forehead  and  upon  their  hand;  and  they  lived 
with  Christ  a  thousand  years/'  Here  we  see  a  supple- 
ment added  to  the  Bride  of  Christ,  when  they  arrive 
from  Heaven,  after  the  tribulation.  Hence  these  were 
sanctified  during  the  tribulation,  as  all  who  were  in  the 
experience  before,  went  up  in  the  rapture,  leaving  no 
sanctified  people  on  the  earth  when  the  tribulation  set 
in.  You  see  this  parable  closes  wdth  a  fervent  admoni- 
tion to  all  to  be  constantly  ready  and  on  the  outlook. 
Such  will  be  the  predominant  power  of  Satan  and  Anti- 
christ during  the  tribulation,  there  being  no  sanctified 
people  on  the  earth  to  antagonize  them,  that  doubtless 
while  the  whole  \\t)rld  will  be  thus  dominated  by  the 
powers  of  dlarkness  and  inundated  with  wickedness,  the 
presumption  is,  that  the  most  of  Christians  will  back- 
slide, while  some  will  stem  the  aw^ful  tide  of  blood  and 
fire  and  actually  get  sanctified;  but  as  you  see  in  the 
above  quotation,  sealing  their  faith  with  their  blood; 
for  doubtless  the  persecutions  of  bygone  ages  will  again 
return,  with  their  old-time  horrors  of  blood  and  fire. 

You  see  the  fatal  error  of  the  foolish  virgins  was 
that  of  putting  the  standard  too  low,  like  millions  at  the 
present  day,  who  say  conversion  is  enough,  thus  flatly 
contradicting  Jesus,  who  so  clearly  and  unmistakably 
in  this  parable  and  others,  teaches  the  imperative  ne- 


302  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

cessity  of  a  secoiid  work.  The  foolish  virgins  thought 
that  they  could  go  through  on  the  one  blessing.  In- 
stead of  landing  at  the  marriage  festival  in  the  New 
Jerusalem,  they  not  only  find  themselves  left  out,  but 
also  encompassed  with  all  the  horrors  of  the  tribulation. 
The  parable  of  the  talents  is  a  substantial  repetition 
of  the  preceding.  As  in  ca&e  of  the  virgins,  the  five  who 
received  the  second  blessing,  came  throug'h  all  right, 
while  those  who  neglected  it,  lost  their  place  in  the 
Bridehood.  So  in  the  parable  of  the  talents.  All  those 
who  double,  come  out  right.  The  Bible  reveal's  truth  so 
important  that  it  is  frequently  doubled ;  e.  g.,  the  dreams 
of  Pharaoh,  the  chief  butler  and  the  'chief  baker.  The 
five-talented  man  doubled  his  talents,  meeting  the  Lord 
with  ten,  and  receiving  a  welcome  into  the  Bridehood. 
Likewise  the  two-talented  man,  doubled  to  four,  and 
came  out  triumphantly.  Meanwhile  the  one-talented 
man,  thinking  he  will  miake  the  matter  sure,  buries  it 
for  safe  keeping,  bringing  it  out,  meeting  his  Lord  with 
congratulations,  surrendering  up  the  talent  and  feeling 
sure  all  will  be  right.  You  see  his  fate  was  infinitely 
worse  than  that  of  the  foolish  virgins;  they  lost  their 
place  in  the  Bridehood :  he  lost  his  i&oul.  The  foolish 
virgins  made  the  mistake  of  putting  the  standard  too 
low,  and  thinking  one  work  of  grace  was  enough,  while 
the  one-talented  man  made  the  opposite  mistake;  i.  e., 
put  the  standard  too  high,  thinking  God  was  so  rigid  and 
imperious  in  His  demands,  that  no  man  could  meet 
them;  consequently  he  gave  up  and  did  not  try.  His 
followers  are  legion  this  dtay.  They,  boldly,  from  pulpit 
and  pew,  declare  to  us  that  entire  sanctification  is  too 


Judgment  Sermon  an  Mt.  Olivet.  303 

high  for  any  one  to  reach  in  this  life.    Hence  they  dis- 
courage all  from  making  the  attempt. 

THE  FINAL  JUDGMENT. 

V.  31-46.  '^nt  when  the  Son  of  man  may  com-e  in 
His  glory  and  all  the  angels  with  Him,  then  He  will 
sit  upon  the  throne  of  His  glory,  and  all  the  nations 
will  be  assembled  before  Him  and  He  will  separate 
them  from  one  another  as  a  shepherd  separates  the  sheep 
from  the  goats;  ^and  He  will  place  the  sheep  on  the  right 
and  the  goats  on  the  left.  Then  will  the  King  say  to 
those  on  His  right,  "Come,  ye  'blessed  of  my  Father,  in- 
herit the  kingdom  which  was  prepared  for  you  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world."  Then  will  He  say  to  those  on 
His  left,  "Depart  from  me,  ye  euTsed-,  into  eternal  fire 
which  was  prepared  for  the  devil  laad  his  angels.  .  .  . 
These  shall  go  away  into  eternal  punishment  and  the 
righteous  into  eternal  life."  Whereas,  the  judgment  of 
the  Bride-hood  will  take  place  as  we  see  in  the  parable  of 
the  virgins  and  the  talents,  before  the  Millennium,  the 
Bride  being  caught  up  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the 
Lamb,  and  there  organized  for  the  part  she  is  destined 
to  take  in  the  Millexmial  reign,  as  the  subordinate  of 
Christ  during  the  glorious  kingdom  of  a  thousand 
years. 

In  Rev.  20:5,  you  see  the  first  resurrection  takes 
place  at  the  beginning  of  the  Mililennium ;  V.  11-15 
shoiws  that  the  final  and  general  resurrection  is  subse- 
quent to  the  Millennial  reign.  1  Cor.  6  :2.  "Do  you 
know  that  the  saints  will  judge  the  world  ?"  Jno.  5  :24. 
^^ruly,  truly,   I   say  unto  you,  the  one  hearing  my 


304  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

word  and  believing  on  Him  tot  sent  me,  has  eternial 
life,  and  does  Doi  come  into  judgment,  but  has  passed 
out  of  death  into  life/^  This  shows  that  the  saints  do 
not  come  into  the  judgment,  having  received  theirs  ante- 
cedently, so  that  in  the  final  judgment  they  are  in- 
cluded in  the  Lord's  glory;  being  there  present  and  co- 
operative with  their  glorious  king  in  the  judgment  of 
the  world.  You  see  this  final  judgment  procedes,  on 
two  broad,  general  principles,  the  whole  world  being 
represented  by  the  sheep,  which  symbolizes  purity,  and 
the  goat,  which  symbolizes  sin.  The  responses  recip- 
rocally made  in  the  interview  of  the  Lord  with  the  pe'O- 
ple  on  His  right  hand,  show  that  they  did  not  enjoy  a 
very  thorough  acquaintance  with  Him,  while  the  same 
is  true  of  those  on  His  left.  About  all  the  solution  at 
which  we  can  arrive,  is  the  recognition  of  the  deep  un- 
dercurrent of  divine  love^  which  can  grow  only  on  the 
tree  of  saving  faith,  on  the  part  of  those  on  the  right, 
•and  the  absence  of  the  same  in  the  case  of  the  people  on 
His  left,  denominated  "goats.^^  You  see  in  the  one  case 
this  love  is  manifested  in  deeds  of  kindness,  and  disin- 
terested philanthropy,  while  in  case  of  the  other  hemis- 
phere of  the  countless  multitude,  gathered  on  His  left, 
it  is  wanting. 

The  Holy  Spirit  has  been  in  the  world  in  all 
ages,  calling  people  to  a  life  of  love.  As  this  love 
is  the  normal  fruit  of  faith ;  those  who  manifest  it,  in  a 
mysterious  way,  wrought  upon  by  the  silent  Spirit  of 
Grod  in  the  heart,  yield  to  Him  though  they  know  Him 
not,  and  consequently  bear  His  normal  fruit  in  their 
lives,  which  is  love;  meanwhile  the  people  in  all  ages 
and  nations,  who  grieve  away  the  silent,  heavenly  Mon- 


Judgment  Sermon  on  Mt.  Olivet.  305 

itor,  live  selfish  lives,  thus  hrutelizing  themselves,  and 
beiaring  the  fruit  of  misanthropy  instead  of  philanthro- 
py. I  trow  there  will  be  a  great  surprise  in  eternity  to 
see  how  the  multiplied  millions  who,  amid  the  darkness 
of  heathenism,  Mohammedanism  and  Eomanism  and  all 
the  superstitions  which  have  girdled  the  globe  through 
the  revolving  ages,  have,  through  the  mediatorial  mer- 
cies of  God  in  Christ,  dispensed  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
His  merciful  interventions  to  every  human  soul,  ulti- 
mately readied  the  land  of  parental  bliss  and  glory. 

Here  you  see  that  the  rank  and  file  of  these  people, 
both  the  good  and  the  bad,  as  represented  by  the  siheep 
and  the  goats,  did  not  enjoy  a  personal  'acquaintance  with 
Jesus.  Therefore  the  conclusion  is  tenable  that  the 
saints  are  not  really  included  in  this  multitude,  because 
they  enjoy  a  personal  acquaintance  with  the  Savior  of 
the  world,  and  perform  all  their  works  of  faith,  love 
and  ob'edience,  with  an  eye  single  to  His  glory ;  doing 
these  things  for  Him  personally  and  understandingly. 
M'eanwhile,  the  wicked  in  gospel  lands  are  generally  con- 
scious of  their  contempt  and  disobedience  to  Him  and 
open  rebellion  against  Him.  The  saints  receive  their 
judgment  in  this  life,  entering  into  intelligent  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Lord,  in  the  administration  of  His  king- 
dom on  the  earth;  standing  courageously  for  Him,  in 
their  bold  advocacy  of  truth  and  righteousness,  and  their 
heroic  condemnation  of  error  and  sin.  During  the  Mil- 
lennium, this  world  will  be  no  longer  divided  and 
perplexed  with  a  mixed  administration ;  but  Satan  hav- 
ing been  taken  out,  Jesus  will  reign  without  a  rival.  We 
see  revealed  in  a  multiplicity  of  scriptures  that  He  will 
rule  the  world  through  the  instrumentality  of  His  sub- 


306  Life  of  Jesus  and  Bis  Apostles, 

ordinate  saints,  who  meanwhile,  will  judge  the  world, 
and  consequently  bear  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  final 
judgment.  We  see  here  the  final  doom  of  the  wicked, 
revealed  in  awful  and  unmistakable  phraseology.  Hell 
is  God^s  penitentiary,  for  the  incarceration  of  the  incor- 
rigible subjects  of  His  universal  empire.  It  was  not 
made  for  human  beings,  as  they  are  all  redeemed  and 
eligible  to  Heaven.  Therefore  their  incarceration  in  hell 
is  a  matter  of  necessity  on  the  part  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment, consequent  upon  their  rejection  of  salvation 
and  forfeiture  of  heaven. 

The  phraseology  which  Jesus  here  uses  is  not  only 
unmistakable  but  inevasible  by  all  the  sophistries  of 
Universalism.  Aioonion,  from  aiai  always  and  oon,  be- 
ing the  strongest  Greek  adjective  signifying  eternal  per- 
petuity, appears  in  verse  41,  defining  the  duration  of  the 
fire  into  which  the  wicked  will  be  cast.  In  verse  46  it 
defines  the  duration  of  the  punishment  which  will  over- 
take the  wicked;  (not  *^everla sting'  as  E.  V.,  but  eter- 
nal;) and  it  also  defines  the  duration  which  will  char- 
acterize the  life  of  the  righteous ;  while  in  Heb.  9  :12 
it  defines  the  duration  of  our  redemption,  and  in  verse 
14  it  defines  the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  you  see  the  pitiful 
nonsense  of  an  attempt  to  limit  the  hell  of  the  wicked. 
It  will  continue  with  its  unquenchable  fire  so  long  as  the 
saints  live  in  glory,  the  redemption  of  Christ  holds  good 
and  God  himself  shall  live.  Nohellites  flounder  terri- 
bly over  this  clear  and  inevasible  revelation  of  Jesus; 
all  their  efforts  to  extricate  themselves,  being  utterly 
futile  and  vain. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    VALEDICTORY    SERMON    AND    PRAYER. 

Matt.  26.  It  is  now  about  nightfall  Wednesday  ev- 
ening. The  awful  preaching  of  Jesus  in  the  Temple  the 
last  three  days  has  aroused  the  blackest  venom  of  the 
bottomless  pit  in  the  hearts  of  the  chief  priests,  scribes 
and  elders,  who  convene  in  the  judgment  hall  of  Caia- 
phas,  where  they  pass  an  edict  to  take  Him  by  strata- 
gem and  kill  Him,  availing  themselves  of  the  first  op- 
portunity, anxious  to  consummate  it  before  the  festi- 
val sets  in,  fearing  a  civil  war  may  break  out  in  the 
event  of  an  attempt  to  put  Him  to  death  during  the 
Passover.  John  12  :2.  "Then  they  made  a  supper  for 
Him  there,  and  Mary  was  serving,  and  Lazarus  was  one 
of  those  sitting  along  with  Him.  Then  Mary,  taking 
a  pound  of  spikenard  myrrh  estimated  very  valuable, 
washed  the  feet  of  Jesus  and  wiped  His  feet  with  her 
bairs,  and  the  house  was  filled  with  the  odor  of  the 
myrrh.  Then  one  of  His  disciples,  Judas  Iscariot,  the 
©on  of  Simon,  the  one  about  to  betray  Him,  says: 
Wherefore  was  not  this  myrrh  sold  for  forty-five  dollars 
and  given  to  the  poor?  And  he  spoke  this  not  because 
there  was  a  care  to  him  concerning  the  poor,  but  because 
he  was  a  thief  and  had  the  purse  and  was  accustomed  to 
carry  the  contributions.  And  l^en  Jesus  said:  "Let 
her  alone ;  she  has  kept  this  until  the  day  of  my  burial. 
For  you  will  have  the  poor  always  with  you,  but  me  you 
have  not  always.  Mark  24 :8.    She  hath  done  what  she 


308  •  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

could,  she  came  beforehand  to  anoint  my  body  for  the 
burial.  Truly,  I  say  unto  you,  where\^er  this  gospel  shall 
be  preached  throughout  the  whole  world,  this  which  she 
has  done  shall  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her." 

This  supper  was  in  the  house  of  Simon,  the  leper, 
doubtless  one  of  those  whom  Jesus  had  healed.  I  was  in 
that  house  two  years  ago.  That  w^as  really  the  last  meal 
He  ever  ate  in  Bethany.  The  holy  family,  Mary,  Mar- 
tha and  Lazarus  as  well  as  the  apostles,  and  perhaps  oth- 
er friends,  were  present.  During  the  supper  Mary  pour- 
ed on  His  head  a  pound  of  the  most  valuable  m5rrrh, 
whose  delicious  aroma  filled  the  house;  meanwhile  she 
anoints  His  feet  and  wipes  them  with  her  hair.  Judas 
was  present  enjoying  the  supper.  He  lifts  up  his  voice 
in  criticism,  condemning  the  prodigality  of  Mary  in  the 
apparently  extravagant  bestow'ment  of  the  valuable 
myrrh,  worth  (not  as  E.  V.,  300  pence),  but,  300  dena- 
ria.  A's  the  den'arian  was  really,  as  the  name  indicate.^, 
ten  pennies' — their  penny,  II/2  cents  of  our  money — the 
value  of  the  whole  amount,  as  you  see,  is  $45.00.  Why 
did  Jesus  call  Judas  a  'fhJef  ?  Because  He  knew  ha  was 
at  that  time,  in  the  act  of  selling  Him  to  the  chief 
priests,  when  he  had  no  idea  that  they  could  take  Him, 
as  he  had  seen  them  trying  it  so  long  and  signally  fail- 
ing. There  is  not  an  insinuation  against  the  character 
of  Judas  till  (John  5  :71)  about  the  close  of  the  second 
year  of  the  Lord's  ministry,  illustrating  the  fact  that  he 
had  proved  faithful  these  two  years,  enjoying  the  honor 
of  apf)stolic  treasurer,  without  a  blot  marring  the  in- 
tegrity of  his  official  administration.  Beware  of  money. 
It  has  an  inherent  magnetism.  Look  out,  for  it  will 
draw  you  from  your  holy  equilibrium.     It  drew  Judas 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  309 

and  plunged  him  into  liell;  the  first  allegation  arising 
a  year  after,  getting  stronger  as  the  days  went  by,  till 
John,  'by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Giiost,  pronounced 
him  a  thief.  They  are  now  all  well,  enjoying  the  good 
supper  which  loving  hands  had  prepared  for  Jesus  and 
His  apostles,  none  dreaming  that  two  days  hence  Jesus 
will  be  laid  away  in  the  sepulchre  a  mangled  corpse. 
Therefore,  knowing  that  His  burial  is  at  hand,  He  com- 
mends Mary  for  thus  coming  beforehand  to  anoint  Him 
for  His  interment,  after  the  Jewish  custom  of  embalm- 
ment. Meanwhile  He  drops  the  beautiful  prophecy,  that 
this  deed  of  loving  philanthropy  of  Mary  will  accom- 
pany the  gospel  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  thus  commem- 
orating this  paragon  saint. 

Luke  22 :3.  And  Satan  entered  into  Judas 
called  Iscariot,  being  of  the  number  of  the 
twelve.  And  having  gone  away  he  spoke  with  the 
chief  priest  and  the  magistrates,  how  he  would  deliver 
Him  to  them.  And  they  rejoiced  and  promised  to  give 
him  money.  And  he  promised  and  sought  opportunity 
to  deliver  Him  to  them  without  a  tumult. 

This  took  place  on  Wednesday  night  after  the  sup- 
per in  the  house  of  Simon,  the  leper.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  Jesus  lodged  that  night  at  the  house  of  Mary, 
Martha  and  Lazarus,  whose  hospitality  He  had  so  fre- 
quently enjoyed  during  the  three  years  of  His  ministry. 
JSTow  He  knows  that  this  is  His  valedictory  to  that  de- 
lightful home  of  the  prophets.  It  is  now  Thursday 
morning  preceding  the  memorable  Friday  of  His  cruci- 
fixion. Though  the  Passover  festival  properly  opened 
on  the  Sabbath,  these  two  days  were  always  used  to  pre- 
pare for  the  oncoming  feast;   slaying  the  Passover  lamb 


310  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

and  breaking  the  unleavened  bread,  getting  all  things 
ready.  Josephus  says,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thous- 
and lambs  were  frequently  slain  for  a  single  Passover. 
What  a  magnanimous  and  copious  symbol,  typi- 
fying to  the  world  that  the  Lamb  of  God  was  going  to 
die  to  redeem  earth's  guilty  millions.  Now  He  sends 
away  Peter  and  John  with  orders  to  go  into  the  city 
and  prepare  for  Him  and  His  disciples  to  celebrate  the 
Passover,  specifying  to  them,  to  go  on  till  they  met  a 
man  carrying  a  pitcher  of  water,  whom  they  were  to  fol- 
low into  the  house  which  he  should  enter,  and  there  say 
to  the  landlord,  v.  2,  ''Our  Teacher  says  to  thee.  Where 
is  the  guest  chamber,  where  I  may  eat  the  Passover  with 
my  disciples?  He  will  show  you  a  large,  upper  room 
furnished;  there  prepare.  And  having  gone,  they  found 
it,  as  He  said  to  them,  and  prepared  the  Passover." 

It  is  now  Thursday  evening.  Peter  and  John,  re- 
sponsive to  the  Lord's  commandment,  have  gotten  every 
thing  ready  for  the  first  Passover  meal,  which  was  to 
have  been  eaten  about  supper  time.  V.  14.  "And  when 
the  hour  arrived.  He  sat  down  and  the  Twelve  Apostles 
with.  Him.  And  He  said  to  them,  with  desire,  I  desired 
to  eat  this  Passover  with  you  before  supper.  For  I  say 
to  you  that  I  eat  of  it  no  more,  until  it  may  be  ful- 
filled in  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  taking  the  cup, 
blessing  it,  He  said,  receive  this  and  divide  it  among  you, 
for  I  say  unto  you  that  I  shall  drink  no  more  of  the 
fruit  of  the  vine,  until  the  kingdom  of  God  may  come.'' 

That  was  really  the  last  meal  He  ate  on  earth.  Now 
what  are  we  to  understand  by  the  kingdom  of  God  as 
here  mentioned?  This  phrase  is  constantly  applied  to 
the  gospel  kingdom,  of  ''righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  311 

the  Holy  Gliost"  (Eom.  14:17)  which  He  brought  with 
Him  in  His  first  advent,  and  it  superseded  the  dispen- 
sation of  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Therefore  we  must 
understand  the  kingdom  of  glory,  which  He  will  bring 
with  Him,  w^hen  He  returns  to  take  up  His  reign  on  the 
earth.  We  miust  constantly  discriminate  between  the 
kingdom  of  grace  w^hich  He  brought  in  His  first  advent, 
and  the  kingdom  of  glory,  which  He  will  bring  w^hen  He 
rules  down  on  the  throne  c  the  Millennial  Theocracy, 
V.  24.  "And  there  was  a  contentio"i  among  them,  which 
one  of  them  was  accounted  to  he  the  greater.  And  He 
said  to  them.  The  kings  of  Gentiles  domdneer  over  them, 
and  those  with  power  over  them  are  called  Benefactors. 
Ye  shall  not  be  so;  but  let  the  one  who  is  greater  among 
you  be  as  the  younger,  and  he  that  is  chief, 
as  he  that  doth  serve.  For  who  is  the  great> 
er:  The  one  that  sitteth,  or  the  one  that  serveth? 
Is  not  the  one  that  sitteth  ?  I  am  in  the  midst  of  you 
as  the  one  that  ministereth,  but  you  have  remained 
with,  me  in  my  temptations,  and  I  appo<int  unto  you  a 
kingdom  as  my  Father  appointed  unto  me,  that  you  may 
eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  kingdom  and  sit  upon 
twelve  thrones,  judging  the  Twelve  Tribes  of  Israel.^' 
Here  is  a  beautiful  allusion  to  His  glorious  kingdom. 
(Compare  Matt.  19  :28,  which  brings  out  the  same  truth 
more  fully,  involving  the  unmistakable  fact  that  the 
Apostles  will  be  the  first  subordinates  of  Christ  in  the 
glorious  Millennial  Theocracy.) 

FEET  WASHING. 

John  13  :l-20.    Immedtiately  our  Lordi  eTif>orces  what 
lie  had  just  told  them  about  the  law  of  supremacy  in 


312  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

His  kingdom;  i.  e.,  that  it  is  diametrically  opposite  id 
the  order  of  sequence  in  earthly  kingdoms,  where  the 
autocrat  is  served  hy  his  citizens^  whereas,  in  the  King- 
dom of  God,  the  leader  is  the  most  servile  of  all,  actually 
a  servant,  of  servants.  In  that  country  shoes  are  not 
worn,  but  sandals,  tied  beneath  their  feet,  to  protect 
them  from  the  rocks.  The  Orientals  are  exceedingly 
polite  and  hospitabl-e.  When  a  guest  comes  to  the  door 
the  host  meets  him  with  water  and  towel,  unties  and  re- 
moves the  sandals  from  his  feet,  proceeding  at  once  to 
wash  them  wdth  his  own  hands  and  wipe  them  dili- 
gently, after  wliich  he  enters  the  house.  This  remov- 
ing the  sandals  and  washing  the  feet  was  regarded  as 
servile  and  humiliating  in  the  superlative  degree.  So 
Jesus  at  once  rises  from  the  table,  lays  aside  His  humil- 
iation, pours  water  in  a  bowl,  girds  Himself  with  a  towel 
and!  proceedis  to  wash  the  disciples^  feet;  thus  illustrat- 
ing in  oriental  simplicity,  the  humble  and  servile  atti- 
tude of  a  ruler  in  his  kingdom.  The  idea  entertained 
by  some  of  the  Lord's  people  that  this  was  to  be  perpet- 
uated as  an  ordinance  in  the  church,  is  refuted  by  the 
words  of  Jesus  to  Peter.  1.  7.  "Jesus  responding  said  to 
him,  "What  I  do,  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  shalt  know 
hereafter.^^  Peter  did  know  that  He  was  washing  his 
feet.  Hence  we  see  that  was  not  the  thing  which  He  was 
doing ;  i.  e.,  the  transaction  was  not  to  be  received  liter- 
ally, but  symbolically ;  illustrating  the  grand  truth  which 
He  has  just  evolved;  setting  forth  the  humility  and  ser- 
vility of  every  leader  in  His  kingdom.  The  history  of 
the  church  corroborates  the  typical  signification  of  this 
transaction,  showing  up  the  fact  that  the  Apostolic 
church  never  did  practice  it,  which  they  certainly  would 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  a/nd  Prayer.  313 

have  done  if  such  were  tlie  meaning  of  our  Lord.  As  a 
practice,  history  catches  not  a  glimpse  of  it,  till  a  few 
centuries  ago  when  the  Tunlvcr  Baptists  took  it  up. 
When  you  fall  in  with  God's  people  who  practice  it,  do 
not  antagonize  them,  lest  you  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
it  is  certainly  harmless. 

JESUS  DESIGNATES  JUDAS. 

21.  They  are  still  at  the  supper  tahle.  Jesus,  having 
stopped  a  minute  to  enforce  that  great  and  important 
answer  to  the  controversy  among  His  disciples  in  refer- 
ence to  supremacy  in  His  Kingdom,  proceeds  with  His 
discourse,  saying,  "Truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  you,  that  one 
of  you  will  betray  me."  The  disciples  looked  toward 
one  another,  being  at  a  loss  concerning  of  which  one 
He  spake.  And  one  of  His  disciples  whom  Jesus  loved, 
was  reclining  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus.  Then  Simon 
Peter  beckons  to  him  to  ask,  who  it  was  ooncexn- 
ing  whom  He  speaks.  And  he,  leaning  on  the  bosom  of 
Jesus,  says  to  Him,  Lord,  who  is  he?  Jesus  responds, 
he  it  is  to  whom,  having  dipped  the  morsel,  I  will  give 
it.  And  having  dipped  the  morsel  He  gives  it  to  Judas 
Iscariot  the  son  of  Simon.  After  the  morsel,  then  Satan 
entered  into  him.  Then  Jesus  says  to  him.  What  you  are 
doing,  do  more  quickly."  While  at  the  supper  table, 
when  Jesus  tells  them  outright  that  one  of  them  is  go- 
ing to  betray  Him  to  His  enemies,  they  are  all  as- 
tounded and  appalled,  each  one  saying,  Lord>,  is  it  I? 
Meanwhile  He  pronounces  an  awful  woe  on  the  one  who 
betrays  Him,  and  says,  "It  were  good  for  him  if 
that  man  had  not  been  born."    Meanwhile  they  are  all 


314  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

thunderstricken  over  the  revelation  that  one  of  them  is  a 
traitor.  Peter  beckons  to  John  who  always  sat  next  to 
Him  to  ask  Him  to  designate  the  traitor.  Jesus  re- 
sponding to  him  in  an  undertone  says,  He  will  point 
him  out  by  dipping  a  morsel  in  the  gravy  and  putting 
it  in  his  mouth ;  which  is  regarded  among  the  Orientals 
as  a  signal  of  love  and  friendship.  So  He  dips  the  mor- 
sel and  gives  it  to  Judas.  Then  Satan,  who  has  been 
pulling  on  him  a  whole  y^ar,  is  emboldened  to  enter  into 
him  at  once;  thus  in  the  finale,  taking  possession  of  him, 
and  impellirg  bim  to  do  his  will.  Tlien  Jesus  tells  Juda.^ 
to  hurry  up  flue  work  which  he  is  doing;  i.  e..  His  betray- 
al. In  this  close  interview,  while  each  one  was  looking 
the  Lorki  in  the  face  and  saying,  ^Is  it  I  ?'  Judas  said 
likewise.  Jesus  said  to  him;  "Thou  hast  said  it,'' 
which  is  a  well  known  Oriental  form  of  direct  affirma- 
tion; spoken  in  an  undertone  so  the  others  did  not  un- 
derstand it.  This  matter  had  been  growing  on  Judas  a 
whole  yeavr,  yet  he  had  shx>wn  no  outw^ard  signs  of  the  in- 
ward temptation  the  enemy  was  prosecuting.  Conse- 
quently all  this  time  he  stood  among  his  peers  unsus- 
pected; V.  29.  And  no  one  of  those  sitting  at  the  tabk 
knew,  for  what  He  spoke  to  him.  For  some  thought, 
fiince  Judias  had  the  purse,  that  Jesus  says  to  him,  pur- 
chase some  of  those  things  of  which  we  have  need  at 
the  feast;  or  that  he  might  give  something  to  the  poor. 
When  he  received  the  morsel  he  immediately  went  out, 
and  it  was  night.  Then  when  he  went  out  Jesus  said; 
"Now  is  the  Son  of  Man  glorified,  and  God  is  glorified 
in  Him.  If  God  is  glorified  in  Him,  truly  God  will  glo* 
rify  Him  in  Himself  and  will  glorify  Him  immediate- 
ly." 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  315 

This  reference  to  His  glorification  is  spoken  propheti- 
cally, as  it  did  not  take  place  till  He  died  the  next  day. 
Now  that  Judas  is  gone,  He  proceeds  to  tell  them  the 
awful  things  wbidh  were  speedily  coming ;  assuring  thera 
that  He  is  going  away  and  that  they  cannot  follow  Him ; 
exhorting  them  vehemently  to  love  one  another,  notify- 
ing them  that  this  would  be  the  mark  on  them  by  which 
all  the  world  would  know  them ;  i.  e.,  their  brotherly  love. 
Here  Peter,  the  senior  apostle,  interjects,  making  in- 
quiry ;  "Lord,  why  am  I  not  able  to  follow  Thee  now  ?  I 
will  lay  down  my  soul  for  Thee.^^   Matt.  14. 

HE  PREDICTS  THE  FALL  OF  PETER. 

V.  31.  "Then  Jesus  says,  you  will  all  'be  offended  in 
me  this  night.  But  Peter  responded  and  said  to  Him, 
If  all  be  offended  in  Thee,  I  will  never  be  offended  in 
Thee."  Offend  here  means  to  backslide,  lose  confidence 
in  Him,  go  back  on  Him,  et  cetera.  How  startling  the 
prediction  that  they  are  all  going  to  forsake  Him  that 
very  night.  Judas  is  already  gone  to  betray  Him.  Dark- 
ness is  upon  the  earth.  He  has  no  lodging.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  He  never  did  before  spend  a  night  in  Jerusa- 
lem ;  as  that  was  the  headquarters  of  His  enemies,  they 
would  have  attacked  Him,  being  afraid  of  the  people  in 
daylight.  Now  the  storm  is  gathering  and  awful 
things  impending.  Luke  22  :13.  "When  the  Lord  said; 
Simon,  Simon,  behold,  Satan  sought  thee  out,to  sift  thee 
like  wheat ;  but  I  prayed  for  thee,  in  order  that  thy  faith 
might  not  fail  thee;  and  thou,  when  having  turned, 
strengthened  thy  brethren.  And  he  said  to  Him,  Lord, 
I  am  ready  to  go  with  Thee  into  prison  and  to  death. 


316  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles 

And  He  said-,  ^'^I  say  unto  -thee,  Peter,  the  cocks  shall  not 
crow  this  day  before  that  thou  shalt  thrice  deny  that 

^/8ui  :fS8Mou^  noi{;; 

Satan  can  sift  out  of  us  only  that  which 
belongs  to  him;  i.  e.,  depravity.  Hence  if  we  are 
true  to  God,  He  will  even  make  the  devil,  along  with 
everything  else,  a  blessing  to  us.  Eom.  8  :28.  Though 
Jesus  was  here  addressing  Peter  in  person,  the  pronoun 
after  "sift"  is  in  the  plural  number,  showing  that  Satan 
did  sift  all  of  them,  as  we  sift  wheat  to  get  the  filth  out ; 
for  that  belongs  to  Satan,  and  God  will  let  him  have  his 
own.  Jesus  knew  that  Peter  would  pass  through  a  ter- 
rii)le  ordeal,  therefore  He  made  him  a  special  subject  of 
prayer.  Oh !  how  appalling  to  Peter  when  Je^us  tells  hiin 
ihtif  before  the  second  crowing  of  the  cock,  he  will  ac- 
tually thrice  deny  that  he  knows  Him.  The  balance 
to,  are  all  startled,  because  He  tells  them  that  they  will 
all  backslide  with  Him  this  night.  V.  35.  "And  Ho  said 
to  them ;  when  I  sent  you  without  purse,  valise  and  san- 
dals, whether  did  you  need  anytihing?  And  they  said, 
Nothing.  Then  He  said  to  th-em..  But  now  let  him  that 
hath  a  purse  take  it,  and  the  least  likewise ;  and  let  him 
that  hath  no  sword  sell  his  cloak  and  buy  one ;  for  I  say 
unto  you  that  it  behooveth  that  this  which  has  been  writ- 
ten must  be  fulfilled  in  me."  And  he  was  numbered 
with  the  transgressors  (Isa.  1 :3-12).  "For  tbose  things 
concerning  me  have  an  end.  And  they  said ;  Lord,  be- 
hold, here  are  two  swords.  He  said  to  them.  It  is  suffi- 
cient." 

This  scripture  has  'bewildered  the  saints  of  all 
ages,  why  Jesus  commanded  them  to  take  the  sword. 
If  you  should  once    travel  in  that  country,  the  matter 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  317 

would  furnish  its  own  solution.  The  Land  of  Moab, 
Amon  and  Edom  border  on  the  east,  while  great  Arabia 
stretches  out  two  thousand  miles  towards  sunrise.  These 
are  the  countries  se-ttled  and  inhahited  by  the  wild  sons 
of  Ishmael  and  Esau,  in  reforence  to  whom  Grod  said, 
"His  hand  wouM.  be  against  e^  ery  man's  hand  and  every 
man's  hand)  would  be  against  him."  Many  of  those  wild 
men  always  sojourned  in  the  land ;  bom  robbers,  many 
of  them  depending  on  the  sword  and  the  battle  ax  for 
their  living.  When  the  Eomans  exterminated  the  Jews 
of  that  country,  these  wild  men  of  the  East  came  and 
took  possession  of  it  and  hold  it  to  this  day.  The  Be- 
douins, who  boast  of  their  patriarchal  blood — the  lineal 
de-scendants  of  Abraham  through  Ishmael  and  Esau — 
do  not  live  in  houses,  but  tents,  which  they  carry  with 
them  as  they  roam  from  place  to  place  with  their  herds 
and  flocks ;  always  armed,  and  in  war  among  themselves. 
Travelers  in  that  country  this  day  find  it  necessary  to 
carry  arms,  not  for  use,  but  intimidation.  During  both 
of  my  tours  in  that  country,  I  had  an  armed  dragoman, 
and  in  the  most  perilous  places,  an  armed  escort.  When 
they  see  arms  they  are  not  apt  to  attack,  whereas  the  ab- 
sence of  any  protection  would  be  a  constant  temptation 
to  the  Bedouins.  \ATiile  Jesus  was  with  them  He  pro- 
tected them,  but  now  that  He  is  going  to  leave  them, 
He  advises  them  to  carry  the  sword,  evidently  for  intim- 
idation and  not  for  assault;  as  you  see  it  illustrated  that 
very  night  in  Gethsemane,  when  Peter  drew  one  of  the 
two  swords  which  they  had,  and  Jesus  had  said  was  suffi- 
cient, and  smote  Malchus.  Without  any  visible  weap- 
ons, they  would  frequently  have  been  attacked  by  rob- 
bers, who  were  then  in  that  country,  as  you  see  in  case 


318  Life  of  Jesus  and  Bis  Apostles. 

of  the  traveler,  journeying  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho. 
(Luke  10.) 

THE  LORD^S  SUPPER. 

The  Passover  meal  has  already  been  eaten,  Jesus 
thus  winding  up  that  greatest  of  all  symbolic  institu- 
tions, after  a  standing  of  l-i91  years,  from  its  invention 
by  Moses,  pursuant  to  Jehovah's  mandate,  that  venerated 
night  in  Egypt,  when  the  destroying  angel  winged  his 
flight  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt  with  a  glittering 
sword,  hewdng  down  the  first  born  in  every  home,  but 
passing  over  all  the  tenements  occupied  by  the  children 
of  Israel.  That  wonderful  night  the  nation  of  Israe] 
was  born-  out  of  th-e  &hackl-ee  of  Egyptian  slavery — 
smiashed  by  the  destroying  angel.  Through  the  flight  of 
t^ese  fifteen  centuries,  multiplied  millions  of  bleeding 
fembs  have  typified?,  in  this  great  annual  festival,  the 
"Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world," 
by  His  vicarious  death.  Now  the  great  Anti-type  super- 
sedes all  the  types  and  s-hadows  which  have  moved  in 
bloody  panorama,  attracting  the  gaze  and  focalizing  the 
faith  of  earth's  teeming  millions.  Matt.  26:26-29. 
"And  while  they  were  eating,  Jesus  taking  bread  and 
blessing  it,  broke  it  and  gave  it  to  His  disciples;  and 
said.  Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body.  And  taking  the  cup  and 
giving  thanks  and  saying,  Drink  ye  all  of  it,  for  this 
is  my  blood  which  belongs  to  the  l^Tew  Testament, 
shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins.  And  I  say  un- 
to you  that  I  will  no  more  drink  of  this  fruit  of  the 
vine,  until  I  may  drink  the  same  with  you  in  the  king- 
dom of  my  Father.'*    1  Cor.  11:24.     "Do  this  in  re- 


1  he  Vahdlciury  Sei-mon  and  Prayer.  310 

menibrance  of  me/'  The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  little  epi- 
tome and  reminiscence  of  the  great  Passover,  its  signifi- 
cation is  retrospective,  whereas  the  Passover  was  pros- 
pective. You  see  the'  commandment  to  observe  it  is  di- 
rect. Cooisequently  it  is  neither  to  be  discontinued  nor 
depreciated.  You  see,  it  is  not  only  to  run  on  through 
the  Gospel  Dispensation  to  the  glorious  Millennial 
Theocracy;  but  that  when  the  Lord  returns  to  the  earth 
on  the  throne  of  His  glory,  it  will  receive  a  grand  impe- 
tus and  be  celebrated  through  the  millennial  ages,  witb 
unprecedented!  interest,  because  the  Lord  Himself,  will 
magnify  it  with  His  personal  presence  and  participation, 
while  multiplied  millions  of  saints,  mortal  and  transfig- 
ured, will,  with  adoring  wonder,  participate  in  this  holy 
Eucharist,  which  will  ever  perpetuate,  in  vivid  memory, 
the  dying  love  of  our  wonderful  Savior.  Our  Lord  now 
delivers  this  beautiful  and  glorious  valedictory  ser- 
mon while  they  are  all  sitting  at  the  supper  table. 
John  14,  15,  16,  17.  "Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled; 
you  Mieve  in  God,  believe  also  in  me." 

They  were  all  deeply  troubled  because  He 
had  told  them  that  He  was  going  to  leave  them. 
He  now  notifies  them  that  it  is  time  for  their 
faith  in  Him  to  move  up  to  the  same  plane 
and  parallel  as  that  of  the  Father.  "In  my  Path- 
er's  house  are  many  mansions;  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would 
have  told  you,  because  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you, 
and  if  I  go  I  will  prepare  a  place  for  you,  and  I  come 
again  and  receive  you  unto  myself,  in  order  that  where 
I  am  ye  may  be  also." 

This  is  the  celestial  universe  from  best  information, 
and  contains  an  infinite  multiplicity  of  worlds  and  one 


320  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

hundred  and  seventeen  millions  of  suns  have  already 
been  discovered,  many  of  them  larger  than  ours,  which  is 
a  million  times  the  size  of  this  world.  Our  sun  is  at- 
tended by  ten  great  worlds,  among  them  Neptune,  six- 
ty times  as  large  as  the  earth,  Uranus,  eighty  times,  Sa- 
turn, eleven  hundred  times,  and  Jupiter,  fourteen  hun- 
dred times  as  large  as  this  world,  which  is  the  lost  sheep 
for  whose  recovery  Jesus  came  down  from  Heaven.  He 
tells  us,  "The  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth."  Matt.  5.  So 
this  is  one  of  the  mansions  He  is  preparing  for  the  oc- 
cupancy of  His  immortal  intelligences.  While  it  will  be 
unutterably  glorious  to  visit  other  worlds,  exploring  the 
grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  celestial  universe,  extending 
our  acquaintance  among  the  unfallen  millions  of  created 
intelligences,  who  ans^r€red  the  triumphant  shout  of  the 
sons  of  God  on  creation's  morn,  when  the  stars  sang 
together,  as  worlds,  in  their  beauty,  wheeled  out 
from  shapeless  chaos,  yet  it  will  certainly  be  gloriously 
consolatory  to  have  a  home  of  our  own,  to  which  we  can 
invite  angel  visitors.  I  trow  the  glorified  earth  will  be 
that  home,  a  trophy  of  our  victory  and  a  reward  of  our 
fidelity.     (Y.  4.) 

"Whither  I  go,  you  know  the  way.  Thomas 
says  to  Him,  Lord,  we  know  not  whither  Thou  goest. 
and  how  do  we  know  the  way  ?  Jesus  says  to  him ;  T  am 
the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life;  no  one  cometh  to  the 
Pather  but  through  me."  This  deliverance  of  our  infal- 
lible Lord  forever  sweeps  away  all  human  creeds,  sects 
and  denominations,  leaving  us  nothing  but  Jesus.  If 
all  the  people  were  content  to  follow  Him  alone,  secta- 
rianism would  drop  into  oblivion,  world  without  end. 
Satan  has   cursed   every  holiness  movement  from    the 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  321 

Apostolic  age  to  the  present  day^  by  interjecting  human 
leadership;  thus  detracting  the  popular  attention  from 
Christ,  and  superinducing  endless  divisions  among 
God's  people.  If  all  would  follow  Jesus  only,  taking 
the  Xew  Testament  as  their  only  guide,  and  the  life  of 
Jesus  as  their  only  model,  denominationalism  would  ut- 
terly and  forever  evanesce. 

The  present  holiness  movement,  like  all  her  pre- 
decessors, is  awfully  afflicted  and  impeded  in  her  true, 
normal  efficiency,  by  the  prominence  already  giv«ii  to 
human  leadership  and  constant  development.  V.  12. 
"Truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  you,  the  one  telieving  on  me 
shall  do  the  works  which  I  do,  and  greater  works  than 
these  shall  he  do,  because  I  go  to  my  Father ;  and  what- 
soever you  may  ask  in  my  name,  ye  'shall  receive.  I  do 
this  in  order  that  the  Father  shall  be  glorified  in  the 
Son.  And  if  you  may  ask  me  anj^thing  in  my  name,  I 
will  do  it." 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost  greater  works  were  wronght 
in  the  way  of  soul  saving,  than  ever  before  under  the 
personal  minis>try  of  our  Lord.  That  wonderful  and  un- 
precedented Pentecostal  revival  not  only  shook  Jerusa- 
lem from  center  to  cdrcumf erence,  but  swept  over  Judea 
like  a  cyclone  of  fire,  overran  Sam'aria  and  shook  the 
Gentile  world  with  the  momentum  of  an  earthquake. 

The  greater  efficiency  which  supervenes  after 
Pentecost,  originates  from  the  personal  presence 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  the  Spirit  of  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  immortal  and  invulnera- 
ble, because  He  has  no  human  body.  Besides,  He 
has  in  His  command  the  wonderful,  inexhaustible,  in- 
fallible, and  omnipotent  resources  of  the  perfected  re- 


322  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

demptive  scheme,  apprehended  and  appropriated  by  the 
people  through  historic  faith,  which  is  so  infinitely  more 
easily  exercised  than  the  prophetic  faith  of  the  old  dis- 
pensation.    "VVhile  Jesus  was  preaching  on  the  earth, 
though  many  believed  He  was  the  Christ,  yet  they  did 
not  know  it  to  absolute  certainty,  as  now,  through  the 
incontestable  resources  of  history  by  four  inspired  wit- 
nesses, dispensed   to  us   in  the    New  Testament;  aug- 
mented and  en'forced  by  the  personal  Holy  Ghost,  illumi- 
nating, quickening  'and  energizing  the  human  mind  and 
spirit,  simultaneously,  and  actually  revealing  Jesus  to 
our  spirits,  night  and  day  the  "fairest  am^ong  ten  thous- 
and and  all  together  lovely/'    Under  the  wonderful  re- 
Bources  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  His  paradoxical  full  sal- 
vation, you  have  nothing  to   do  but  ask  and  receive. 
V.  16.     "And  I  will  ask  the  Father  and  'He  will  give 
unto  you  another  Comforter  in  order  that  He  may  abide 
with  you  forever,  the  spirit  of  truth,  which  the  world 
is  not  able  to  receive,  because  it  does  not  see  Him  or 
know  Him ;  you  know  Him  because  He  abideth  with  you 
and  shall  be  in  you.  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans,!  come 
to  you.'^  He  had  already  predicted,  three  times  over,  the 
bloody  death  that    awaited  Him.     Now    having  thus 
thrice  notified  them,  that  His  enemies  will  kill  Him; 
He  informs  them  that  He  is  going  to  send  them  the 
Holy  Ghost,  whom  they  cannot  kill,  thus  virtually  ren- 
dering Himself  immortal  in  His  personal  successor.  He 
here  notified  them  that  the  world  neither  knows,  nor 
can  know,  the  Holy  Ghost.    Eegeneration  takes  you  out 
of  the  world  and  sanctification  takes  the  world  out  of 
you.    Je&as  was  Father    to  all    His  disciples    while  on 
the    earth.    They    are    now    much    grieved    over    the 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  323 

thought  that  He  is  to  be  taken  away^  yet  He  comforts 
them  with  the  positive  promise  of  His  Successor.  V.  23. 
Jesus  responded  and  said  to  him,  "If  any  one  loves  me 
he  will  keep  my  word  and  my  Father  will  love  him.  And 
we  w'li  come  to  him  and  make  our  mansion  with  him." 
Here  we  have  in  this  chapter  the  beautiful  differen- 
tiation of  the  Trinity.  In  conversion,  the  sinner  re- 
ceives Jesus,  as  his  atoning  Savior.  In  sanctification  the 
Christian  receives  the  personal  Holy  Ghost,  his  indwell- 
ing comforter  and  guide.  Now.  that  the  whole  plan  of 
salvation  has  been  consummated  by  the  Son  and  Spirit, 
and  the  chasm  between  God  and  man,  created  by  the  fall, 
gloriously  bridged  over,  man  has  nothing  to  do  but  come 
back  to  God  and  sink  away  into  His  glorious  divinity, 
losing  sight  of  the  world,  absorbed  forever  in  the  con- 
templation of  God,  henceforth,  always  indefatigable  in 
his  zeal  for  God  and  the  promotion  of  his  glory.  This 
third  experience,  though  not  essential  to  full  salvation, 
is  the  most  powerful  breakwater  against  apostasy,  im- 
parting an  unutterable  prelibation  of  heavenly  bliss  and 
glory.  Y.  30.  "I  no  longer  speak  many  things  with  you 
for  the  Prince  of  the  world  cometh  and  hath  nothing  in 
me.''  This  is  our  Lord's  standard  of  entire  sanctifica- 
tion, which  eliminates  away  everything  belonging  to  Sa- 
tan, so  that  when  he  comes  to  us,  he  finds  nothing  in  us 
belonging  to  him.  "Arise,  let  us  go  hence."  At  this  point 
Jesus  rises  from  His  seat  at  the  table  to  go  away  to 
Gethsemane  where  His  enemies  arrested  Him  that  very 
night.  Therefore  now  in  the  standing  posture  He  pro- 
ceeds to  elaborate  His  beautiful  truth  in  the  parable  of 
the 


324  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

VINE  AND  THE  BRANCHES. 

"I  am  the  true  vine,  and  my  Fatlier  is  the  Husband- 
man. Every  vine  in  me  not  bearing  fruit  He  taketh 
away,  and  every  one  bearing  fruit  He  cleanseth  it  that  it 
may  bear  more  fruit."  Here  you  see  that  without  true 
regeneration  you  cannot  bear  spiritual  fruit,  "love,  joy, 
peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  meek- 
ness, faith,  temperance."  Gal.  5 :17.  But  you 
see  that  He  purifies  every  branch  that  beareth 
fruit,  in  order  that  it  may  bear  more  fruit,  while  He 
cuts  off  the  non-fruit-bearing  branches  and  burns  them. 
Hence  we  see  that  hell  or  holiness  awaits  every  Chris- 
tian. If  he  does  not  go  on  into  sanctification,  he  will 
prove  a  non-fruit-bearing  branch,  suffer  excision  and 
ejectment  into  the  fire.  The  normal  economy  of  the 
Husbandman  in  this  parable  is  to  cleanse  ever}^  fruit- 
bearing  branch;  i.  e.,  sanctify  every  Christian  who  is 
bearing  holy  fruit,  that  he  may  bear  more  and  better 
fruit.  Hence  you  see  that  the  soul  resisting  sanotificar 
tion  grieves  the  Holy  Spirit  and  suffers  amputation 
from  Christ,  who  is  the  true  vine. 

V.  5.  "I  am  the  Vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  He 
that  abideth  in  Me  and  I  in  him,  the  same  beareth  much 
fruit,  because  without  Me  you  are  not  able  to  do  any- 
thing. If  any  one  may  not  abide  in  Me,  he  is  cast  forth 
like  a  branch  and  is  utterly  withered,  and  they  gather 
it  and  cast  it  into  the  fire,  and  it  is  burned.'' 

As  the  good  angels  gathered  arooind  Lazarus  and 
carried  his  disemhodied  soul  to  Abraham's  bosom,  so  the 
demons  take  possession  of  every  lost  soul  and  cast  it 
into  hell  fire. 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  325 

V.  7.  "If  3^ou  abide  in  me  and  my  words  abide  in 
you,  ask  whatsoe^^er  you  wish  and  it  shall  be  done  unto 
you."  As  you  see  here,  the  normal  economy  is,  that 
souls  who  do  not  bear  holy  fruit  are  taken  away  and  cast 
into  hell  fire;  hence,  fruit-bearing  is  the  indispensable 
condition  of  abiding  in  Christ. 

Now  remember,  that  He  cleanseth  all  fruit-bearing 
branches,  that  the  fruit  may  be  more  abundant  and  of  a 
better  quality.  Hence  you  see  it  is  impossible  to  abide 
permanently  in  Christ,  without  this  cleansing,  which  so 
much  improves  the  fruit  in  quality  and  in  quantity. 
Therefore  Fletcher  says,  "It  is  impossible  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, unless  you  are  either  already  perfect,  or  vigorously 
pressing  towards  it." 

V.  11.  "I  have  spoken  these  things  to  you,  that  my 
joy  may  be  in  you,  and  your  joy  may  be  full."  This 
fulness  of  joy,  which  He  wants  to  give  all  His  saints, 
is  our  Savior's  own  joy.  N.  B.  He  never  had  the  joy 
of  pardoned  sin,  because  He  never  had  any  sins  to  be 
pardoned ;  but  He  always  hadi  the  joy  of  a  pure  heart. 
Hence  you  see  you  must  reach  the  experience  of  purity 
before  you  can  ever  have  the  graces  of  the  Spirit  as  they 
existed  in  the  heart  of  Jesus.  He  is  our  Paragon ;  there- 
fore, we  are  to  have  all  the  graces  as  He  had  them. 

V.  16.  ^TTou  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen 
you,  and  put  you  forth,  that  you  may  go  and  bear  fruit, 
and  you  may  go  and  abide,  in  order  that  whatsoever  you 
ask  the  Father  in  my  name.  He  may  give  it  unto  you." 
In  this  verse  eiheeJca  is  "ordained";  in  E.  V.  Also, 
epoisese,  "made"  (Mark  3:14),  and  cheirotoneesantes, 
"appointing."  (The  simple  meaning  of  the  Greek  is, 
"reaching  forth  the  hand'" — the  manner  in  which  they 


326  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

elected  the  elders. )  These  are  'the  omly  words  translated 
"ordained"  in  N.T.,  where  it  is  thought  to  have  reference 
to^  and  authenticate,  the  modem  church  ordination. 
While  such  ordination  is  innocent  and)  unobjectionable^ 
if  not  made  the  instrument  of  ecclesiastical  'tyranny,  you 
see  plainly  the  uftter  absence  of  such  an  institution  as 
ordination  in  the  New  Testament.  All  you  can  find  on 
that  line  was  where  the  Corinthian  Church  gathered 
around  Paul  and  Barnabas,  laid  hands  on  them,  and 
consecrated  th-em  for  the  missionary  work  which  lay  out 
before  them.  This,  in  their  case,  really  had  no  ecclesias- 
tical signification,  as  they  were  both  already  apostles; 
but  the  simple  end  in  view  was  to  augment  their  efficien- 
cy as  soul  savers  by  the  simple  invocation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  on  them.  Thousands  of  good  preachers  now  in 
the  holiness  movement  are  without  the  modem  ecclesi- 
astical ordination,and  not  to  be  depreciated  an  iota  on  ac- 
count of  this  lack.  When  the  saints  gather  around  thein, 
lay  hand's  on  them  and  pray  for  them,  they  receive  all 
the  ordination  known  in  the  New  Testament.  Jesua 
gives  to  His  disciples  the  wonderful  promise  that  the 
Father  will  grant  whatsoever  they  may  ask  in  His  name. 
Hence  we  see  the  gospel  resources  are  absolutely  illim- 
itable. 

V.  18.  "If  the  world  hates  you,  know  that  it  first 
hated  me.^'  The  world  was  utterly  disgusted  with  Jesus ; 
not  only  hated  Him,  but  cruelly  killed  Him.  The  same 
bloody  ordeal  followed  His  disciples,  killing  a  hundred 
millions.  Hence  the  irreconcilable  antagonism  which 
has  prevailed  between  the  Church  and  the  world  in  all 
ages.  It  is  pertinent  here  to  observe  that  the  earth  is 
filled  with  counterfeit  churches  at  the  present  day,  whioh 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  327 

provoke  no  hostility  from  the  world,  from  the  simple 
fact  that  they  are  homogeneous. 

Ch.  16:10.  "I  have  spoken  these  things  to  yon  that 
you  may  not  he  offended''^ ;  i.  e.,  shaken  and  unsettled  in 
your  faith.  "They  will  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues, 
but  the  hour  eometh  when  everyone  killing  may  think 
that  he  is  rend^ering  service  to  God."  This  prophecy  of 
our  Savior  has  been  most  eopiously  fulfilled  in  by-gon« 
ages.  Millions  of  the  truest  saints  that  ever  lived  have 
been  slaughtered  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  The  Spanish 
pioneers  of  America,  at  one  time,  had  a  vow  on  them  to 
kill  twelve  Indians  per  day,  in  honor  of  the  twelve  apos- 
tles. Many  sanctified  people  at  the  present  day  are 
turned  out  of  the  church ;  i.  e.,  put  out  of  the  synagoguie. 
The  present  age  is  probably  equal  to  any  preceding, 

LATTER  DAY   PROPHECIES. 

Ch.  16  :7.  "But  I  speak  the  truth  to  you :  It  is  profi- 
table to  you  for  me  to  go  away :  for  if  I  go  not  away, 
the  Comforter  will  not  come  to  you:  If  I  go  away,  I 
will  s>end  Him  to  you."  It  was  necessary  for  Jesus  to 
complete  the  work  of  redemption  and  die  on  the  cross, 
thus  expiating  the  guilt  of  a  lost  world,  perfectly  sat- 
isfying the  violated  law.  before  the  Holy  Ghost  could 
perfectly  do  His  work  in  the  capacity  of  Comforter,  as 
He  must  utilize  our  intellects  in  the  dispensation  of 
consolation.  The  Holy  Ghost  was  always  in  the  world, 
but  dependent  on  the  expiatory  and  reconciliatory  work 
of  Christ.  Therefore,  that  work  must  be  literally  and 
actually  completed  hefore  He  could  fully  dispense  com- 
fort to  a  soul  wrecked  and  ruined'  by  the  fall.    The  word 


328  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

paraJcIetos  (comforter)  is  deeply  significant,  as  it  is 
from  Icalevo  (to  call),  andlpara  (by) ;  therefore  it  means 
one  called]  to  stand  by  your  sidfe'. 

V.  8.  '*^And  having  come,  He  will  convict  the  world 
concerning  sin,  and  concerning  righteousness,  and  con- 
cerning condemnation.  Concerning  sin,  indeedi,  because 
they  do  not  believe  in  me ;  concerning  righteousness,  be- 
cause I  go  to  the  Father  and  3^ou  see  me  no  more;  and 
concerning  condemnation,  because  ithe  prince  of  this 
world  has  been  condemned'."  Conviction  is  the  great 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  really  the  pioneer  of  all 
experimental  grace.  Unbelief  is  the  only  condemnatory 
sin,  as  all  others  are  swept  away  by  faith.  The  very 
fact  that  the  people  all  know  that  Jesus  has  been  on  the 
earth,  and  that  He  ascended  up  to  heaven  and  they  see 
Him  no  more,  is  a  demonstrative  proof  that  God  has 
accepted  the  atonement,  which  He  came  into  the  world 
to  make.  Therefore,  the  people  who  do  not  believe  on 
Him  for  free  and  full  salvation  are  without  excuse.  The 
very  fact  that  the  eternal  and  irreversible  condemnation 
of  the  devil  has  already  gone  forth,  is  confirmatory  proof 
that  all  who  remain  with  him  must  abide  his  condem- 
nation and  eternal  destiny.  Every  sinner  is  literally  in 
the  hands  of  the  devil,  and  can  only  escape  by  the  re- 
deeming grace  of  Christ,  administered  with  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

V.  12.  ^^I  still  have  m-any  things  to  speak  to  you, 
but  you  are  not  able  to  'bear  them  now."  They  needed 
the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire  to  qualify  them 
to  take  in  the  deep  things  of  God,  afterward  to  be  re- 
vealed by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

V.  13.     ''And  when  He,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  may 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  329 

come,  He  will  guide  you  in  all  truth :  for  He  will  not 
speak  of  Him&elf;  but  He  will  speak,  and  will  pro- 
claim 'to  you  the  things  which  are  to  com^."  After  Je- 
sus had  spokem  to  them  the  gospels,  the  Holy  Ghost  came 
and  revealed  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  all  of  the  epistles, 
and  Eevelation,  which  is  strictly  a  book  of  prophecy. 

V.  14.  "He  wall  glorify  me  because  He  will  receive 
from  mine,  and  He  will  proclaim  it  unto  you."  The 
Holy  Ghost  is  really  the  Spirit  of  Jesus.  "\ATien  they 
killed  Him,  He  came  hack  to  the  world  in  the  person 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  the  Holy  Ghost  had  a  mortal 
body,  the  fallen  church  would  kill  Him.  But  as  He 
has  no  human  body,  He  is  invulnerable  and  immortal. 

Vs.  20-22.  "Truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  you,  that  you 
shall  weep  and  mourn  and  the  world  will  rejoice:  you 
will  weep,  buit  your  weeping  will  be  turned  into  joy.  A 
woman,  when  she  may  bring  forth,  hath  'grief,  because 
her  hour  has  come :  liut  when  the  little  child  may  be 
born,  she  no  longer  rememhers  her  trouble,  on  account 
of  joy  because  a  man  was  bom  into  the  world.  You  now 
have  sorrow,  but  again  I  will  see  you  and  your  heart 
will  rejoice,  and  no  one  will  take  your  joy  from  you.'' 
The  similitude  of  the  woman's  imparturition  is  at  once 
strong  and  sitriking.  The  death  pangs  of  the  ante-dilu- 
vian  world,  amid  the  awful  sufferings  of  the  flood,  wa? 
the  parturition  of  the  post-diluvian  world',  to  revive 
and  flourish  and  populate  the  whole  earth  again.  Amid 
the  unuttera'ble  horrors  of  the  bloody  Eoman  wars, 
wherein  a  million  of  people  fell  by  the  sword,  pestilence 
and  famine,  and  a  million;  more  were  sold  into  slavery, 
rang  out  the  dying  groans  of  the  Jewish  dispensation, 


330  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

which  ushered  into  the  world  the  glorious  era  of  th€ 
heavenly  kingdom. 

When  the  Gentile  dispensation  goes  diown  amid  the 
death  agonies  of  the  tribulation,  the  glorious  millennial 
will  sweep  in. 

V.  23.  '''In  that  day  you  will  ask  me  for  nothing; 
truly,  truly,  I  say  unto  you,  if  you  ask  the  Father  for 
anything,  He  will  give  it  in  my  name.  Un'til  now  you 
have  asked  nothing  in  my  name :  ask,  and  you  shaR  re- 
ceive, in  order  that  your  joy  shall  be  full.'^ 

Before  Jesus  was  actually  crucified  and  risen,  the 
fact  of  His  Messiahship  was  not  confirmed  beyond  the 
possihility  of  a  doubt;  consequently  they  did  not  pray 
in  His  name,  but  directly  to  God.  Now  that  He  is  in 
the  very  act  of  consummating  the  expiatory  work  and 
making  the  vicarious  atonement  a  fixture  forever,  and 
when  He  shall  have  entered  upon  His  intercessory  office 
at  God''s  right  hand,  then  the  way  will  be  perfectly  clear 
andl  they  will  have  nothing  to  do  biiit  ask  the  Father  in 
His  niame,  and  everything  will  be  granted.  Therefore, 
He  is  setting  forth  to  His  disciples  the  necessity  of  His 
vicarious  atonement  and  glorious  intercession,  destined 
so  speedily  to  be  perfected  hefore  their  eyes,  whereby 
the  full-orbed  kingdom  of  God),  in  'the  economy  of  gospel 
grace,  will  have  been  clearly  launched  out  into  the  world. 

V.  25.  *'^I  have  spoken  to  you  in  parables;  but  the 
hour  cometh  when  I  will  no  longer  speak  to  you  in  para- 
bles, but  openly  will  I  proclaim  to  you  concerning  the 
Father.''  The  Bible  is  all  gospel.  The  Old  Testament 
is  the  gospel  in  symhol.  Jesus  preached  the  gospel  in 
parables;   the  Acts  of  'the  Apostles  is  the  gospel  in  his- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  331 

tory;    the  Epistles  are  the  gospel  in  -experience;   while 
Revelation  is  the  gospel  in  prophecy. 

Y.  26.  "In  that  day  you  shall  asfk  in  my  name:  and 
I  do  not  say  to  you,  that  I  will  ask  the  Father  concern- 
ing you;  for  the  Father  himself  loves  you,  because  you 
have  loved  me,  and  have  helieved  thait  I  came  out  from 
God."  He  gives  them  a  double  consoiktion  with  refer- 
ence to  their  petitions;  i.  e.,  that  they  can  pray  directly 
to  Him,  and  also  to  the  Father,  who  loves  them,  so  that 
He  will  surely  answer  their  petitions.  Kot  only  does 
Jesus  love  a  lost  world,  so  that  He  came  and  died  for 
us  all,  but  the  Father  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son  to  die,  that  whosoever  beli-eveth 
on  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life  (John 
3:16). 

V.  28.  "I  came  out  from  the  Father,  and  I  have 
come  into  the  world:  again,  I  leave  the  world,  and  I 
go  to  the  Father."  Here  Jesus  plainly  tells  Hig  apostles 
the  great  facts  of  the  redemptive  scheme :  His  exit  from 
heaven,  expiatory  atonement,  and  His  return  thither. 

V.  32.  "Behold,  the  hour  cometh,  and  has  already 
come,  that  you  may  be  dispersed  abroad,  each  one  to  his 
own  place,  and  leave  me  alone."  This  prophecy  was 
fulfilled  within  three  hours  from  that  time,  when  all  the 
disciples  deserted  Him  in  Gethsemane. 

V.  33.  "But  take  courage,  because  I  have  conquered 
•the  world."  This  is  spoken  prophetically  in  vivid  antic- 
ipation of  what  was  coming  within  the  next  thirty-four 
hours. 

VALEDICTORY  PRAYER. 

Chapter  17,  vs.  9,  10.    "I  pray  for  these :   I  do  pot 


332  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

pray  for  the  world,  but  for  those  whom  thou  hast  given 
me ;  because  they  are  thine,  and  all  mine  are  thine,  and 
thine  are  mine;  and  I  have  been  glorified  in  them." 
Sanctifi'cation  marries  us  to  the  Lord.  So,  pursuant  to 
the  well-known  divine  law  of  matrimonial  unification, 
all  ours  are  His,  and  His  are  ours;  and  we  are  one  in 
Him.  We  here  see  that  sanctification  is  not  for  the 
world.  Consequently,  sinaiers  cannot  get  it,  as  it  is 
simply  God^'s  gift  to  His  children. 

V.  12.  "When  I  was  with  them,  I  kept  them  through 
thy  name,  whom  thou  ha&t  given  me:  and)  I  guarded 
them,  and  no  one  of  them  perished,  except  the  son  of  de- 
struction, in  order  that  the  Scriptures  may  be  fulfilled.'* 
Judas  is  already  gone  away  from  them,  and  is  now  en- 
gaged in  his  interview  with  the  chief  priests,  making 
arrangements  to  come  for  Him  that  very  night.  "Son 
of  perdition'^  does  not  convey  the  idea  of  predestination, 
but  is  a  peculiar  Orientalism,  simply  indicating  the  fact 
that  he  was  destroyed. 

V.  14.  "I  have  given  unto  them  thy  word ;  and  the 
world  hated  them  because  they  are  not  of  the  world,  as 
I  am  not  of  the  world."  Here  we  see  the  striking  homo- 
geneity, peculiar  to  the  kingdom  which  Jesus  set  up. 
As  He  was  utterly  heterogeneous  to  this  fallen  world,  so 
His  followers,  by  the  great  salvation  which  He  gives, 
are  not  only  like  Him,  but  so  unlike  the  world  that  the 
normal  sequence  of  true  diseipleship  in  all  ages  has  been 
the  hatred  of  the  world,  provoked  and  concentrated  on 
them,  as  in  case  of  their  Leader. 

V.  15.  "I  do  not  pray  that  you  may  take  them  out 
of  the  world,  but  that  you  may  keep  them  from  the  evil 
ooe*' ;  i.  e.,  the  dfevil.    If  the  Lord  were  to  take  all  of  His 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  333 

saints  out  of  the  world,  He  would'  tlius  leave  it  in  dark- 
ness, black  as  the  midnight  of  hell,  with  no  hope,  but 
destined  to  the  dismal  doom  of  the  ante-diluvians  and 
Sodom  and)  Gomiorrah. 

Here  we  see  that  it  is  our  glorious  privilege,  not  only 
to  have  victory  over  the  devil,  but  also  to  get  rid  of  him 
altogether — a  thing  apparently  almost  unknown  among 
the  people  of  God;  who  on  the  contrary  seem  to  think  it 
impossible  to  get  rid  of  Satan  in  this  life. 

V.  17.  "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth :  thy  word 
is  truth.''^  Here  we  see  that  we  are  all  to  get  sanctified 
through  the  word  of  the  Lord,  which  is  the  instrumental 
cause  of  sanctification ;  while  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  ef- 
ficient cause;  and  the  cleansing  blood,  the  divine 
elixir  by  which  the  cleansing  is  wrought,  under  the  ap- 
plication of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Meanwhile,  faith  is  the 
conditional  cause. 

V.  19.  "For  their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself,  in  order 
that  they  themselves  may  be  sanctified  through  the 
truth.'*  Sanetify  is  from  gee  (the  world),  and  alpha 
(not) ;  hence  it  means  to  take  the  world  out  of  you. 
I.  John  2  :16  tells  us  "All  this  is  the  world,  the  lust  of 
the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pridie  of  life" ;  i.  e., 
the  unholy  trinity — the  carnal  mind.  Now  how  could 
Jesus  sanctify  Himself,  when  He  had  neither  inbred  sin, 
nor  the  carnal  mind?  You  must  understand  that  His 
sanctification  was  not  experimental,  like  ours,  but  le- 
galistic. He  hadi  taken  on  himself  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world,  in  order  to  relieve  the  world',  that  they  might 
come  to  Him  and  get  saved.  So  He  really,  in  a  legal 
sense,  carried)  the  sin  of  the  world  till  He  died  under  the 
law ;  thus  paying  His  penalty,  and  satisfying  it  forever. 


334  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apo'stleg, 

H«nfce  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  was  His  sanctificatian  in 
this  legalistic  sense ;  having  received)  personal  sanctifica- 
tion  when  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  and  filled  Him  on 
Jordan's  bank. 

Vs.  20-23.  "I  not  only  pray  for  these,  but  for  those 
who  believe  on  me  through  the  word;  in  order  that 
they  may  all  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I 
in  Thee,  in  order  that  they  may  be  in  us :  in  order  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me.  And  I 
have  given  unto  them  the  glory  which  Thou  hast  given 
unto  me,  in  order  that  they  may  be  one  as  we  are  one : 
I  in  them,  and  Thou  in  me,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
perfected  into  one:  in  order  that  the  world  may  know 
that  Thou  hast  sent  me,  and  Thou  hast  loved  them  as 
Thou  hast  loved  me."  Here  you  see  the  normal  effect 
of  sanctification  is  to  unify  us  with  Jesus,  by  eliminat- 
ing all  sin  out  of  us.  And^  as  He  here  assures  us,  uni- 
fication with  Him  is  union  with  God.  Here  you  also 
see  (v.  23)  the  sjTionym  of  perfection  with  sanctifica- 
tion, as  He  in  this  prayer  uses  them  synonymously. 

Sanctification  is  from  sanctus  (holy)  and  fio  (to 
make),  meaning  to  make  you  holy;  while  perfection  is 
from  per  (complete)  and  fio  (to  make),  meaning  to 
make  complete.  Sanctification  makes  you  complete  in 
Christ,  while  perfection  means  the  same.  Here  we  see 
that  our  Savior  actually  wdnds  up  His  ministry  with  <! 
sermon  on  sanctification,  and  a  prayer  that  all  His 
disciples  in  all  ages  might  receive  it.  Oh,  what  wonder- 
ful encouragement  we  all  have  in  this  sermon  and  prayer, 
eternally  sweeping  away  all  doubt  as  to  the  willingness 
of  God  to  sanctify  you  wholly  this  very  moment ! 

This  word  sanctify  (v.  17)  is  in  the  aorist  tense,  im- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  I'rayer.  o35 

perative  mood,  hence  it  means  to  do  this  work  instanta- 
neously and  completely;  leaving  us  all  without  the  sol- 
itary vestige  of  an  excuse,  from  the  simple  fact  that 
God's  omnipotence  is  pledged  in  the  matter.  There  i=, 
therefore,  no  room  left  for  doubt.  God  has  willed  it; 
Christ  has  died  to  procure  it ;  the  Holy  Ghost  is  present 
to  administer  it ;  while  the  Bible  is  our  infallible  guide- 
book, lying  on  every  center-table. 

THE   PROSECUTION. 

He  has  wound  up  that  glorious  farewell  sermon  and 
memorable  valedictory  prayer,  standing  at  the  supper 
table,  in  that  notable  upper  chamber  on  Mt.  Zion,  in 
the  west  end  of  the  city.  He  walks  out,  accompanied  by 
the  eleven  disciples,  Judas  having  gone  away  and  joined 
the  enemy.  They  journey  through  the  city  eastward, 
pass  out  through  the  sheep  gate,  as  it  was  then  called, 
but  now  it  is  cognomened  St.  Stephen's  Gate,  because  it 
is  said  that  the  mob  dragged  him  out  through  it,  and 
stoned  him  to  d'eath  a  short  distance  east  of  it,  on  the 
slope  of  Mt.  Moriah.  Pursuing  their  journey  eastward- 
ly,  they  cross  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  descend  Mt. 
Olivet,  a  very -short  distance,  till  they  enter  the  Park 
Gethsemane,  whither  Jesus  had  frequently  resorted  with 
His  disciples.  It  contains  a  goodly  number  of  olive 
trees,  said  to  be  the  same  which  were  there  in  our  Sa- 
vior's time,  tradition  even  going  back  and  certifying  that 
they  were  there  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  and  that  he 
frequently  sat  under  them.  When  we  consider  the  fact 
that  the  olive  tree  in  that  country  lives  a  thousand 
yearS;  and  then  only  dies  above  ground,  the  roots  surviv- 


S36  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

mg,  sending  up  s-prouts  which  grow  to  be  trees,  thus  per- 
petuating their  progenitor ;  and  these  trees  now  in  Geth- 
semane  are  about  forty  feet  in  circumference  at  the 
ground,  several  trunks  standing  on  every  root,  it  becomes 
exceedingly  plausible  that  these  axe  the  identical  olive 
trees  under  which  Jesus  and  His  disciples  used  to  sit  as 
He  talked  to  them  about  the  kingdom ;  and  more  than 
likely  that  they  were  there  in  the  days  of  Abraham.  An 
Oriental  garden  is  what  we  call  a  park.  The 
word  "'Gethsemane^'  means  oil-press,  because  they  manu- 
factured olive  oil  from  the  fruits  growing  there. 

THE   AGONY. 

Matt.  26  :37.  "And  taking  Peter  and  the  two  sons  of 
Zebedee,  he  began  to  weep  and  to  be  dejected.  He  then 
says  to  them,  My  soul  is  exceedingly  soTrowful  unto 
death :  abide  here  and  watch  with  me ;  and  going  for- 
ward a  little  space,  He  fell  on  His  face  praying,  and  say- 
ing. My  Father,  if  it  is  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from 
me ;  moreover,  not  as  I  wish,  but  as  Thou. 

Luke  22  :43.  "And  an  angel  from  heaven  appeared 
to  Him  strengthening  Him.  And  being  in  agony  He 
continued  to  pray  the  more  earnestly.  And  His  sweat 
was  like  drops  of  blood  falling  down  upon  the  ground. 
And  rising  from  His  prayer,  having  come  to  His  dis- 
ciples. He  found  them  sleeping  from  weariness,  and  He 
said  to  them.  Why  do  you  sleep  ?  Arising,  pray  that  you 
may  not  enter  into  temptation."  Matthew  and  Ma  > 
here  say  the  "spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is 
weak."  Vast  perplexity  has  prevailed  among  exegetes 
with  reference  to  the  agony,  because  of  the  fact  that 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  337 

multiplied  millions  of  His  followers  have  walked  cour- 
ageously into  the  devouring  flames  and  into  the  Colise- 
um while  the  lions  ^exe  deafening  the  multitudes  with 
their  awful  roar,  the  ejaculation  of  their  voracious  hun- 
ger, ready  in  a  moment  to  devour  them  in  their  blood. 
The  solution  is  the  simple  fact  that  He  had  upon  His 
spotless  soul  all  the  mountains  of  sin  ever  committed 
from  the  days  of  Cain  the  fratricide,  till  the  latest  gen- 
eration of  Adam^s  ruined  race,  the  Father  at  that  time 
laying  them  upon  Him,  pursuant  to  the  covenant  of  re- 
demption, into  which  He  entered  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world.  The  divinity  could  not  suffer ;  the  humanity 
did  all  the  suffering.  His  human  will  acquiescing  in  the 
bloody  death  of  the  cross.  Therefore,  it  is  utterly  im- 
pertinent to  compare  Him  with  the  martyrs,  who  are 
free  as  birds  of  Paradise,  because  He  had  carried  all 
their  sins  and  all  their  burdens ;  but  there  was  no  one 
to  carry  His.  Therefore  no  tongue  can  tell,  nor  imagi- 
nation conceive,  the  horrors  of  this  agony.  We  see  noth- 
ing of  it  when  they  tore  His  flesh  to  pieces  in  the  scourg- 
ing at  Pilate's  bar  and  nailed  Him  to  the  cross,  from  the 
simple  fact  that  His  human  will  had  fought  the  battle 
in  Gethsemane  andi  perfectly  submitted  to  the  dreadful 
ordeal.  We  observe  that  God  answered  His  prayer  in  the 
mission  of  an  angel  from  Heaven,  who  strengthened 
Him  in  that  awful  hour. 

Matt.  26:43.  "And  having  come  He  finds  them 
asleep  again,  for  their  eyes  wexe  heavy.''  They  were 
stout,  muscular  men,  inured  to  hard,  physical  toil,  con- 
sequently sleep  came  on  them  with  a  sudden  relaxation ; 
yet  it  was  exceedingly  important  that  they  keep  awake, 
because  that  ruffian  army,  led  by  Judas  and  the  chief 


338  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

priests,  was  then  on  their  track,  hotly  pursuing  them, 
and  He  sees  that  they  are  very  near  them;  hence  the 
danger  of  sudden  affright  and  precipitation,  the  tempta- 
tion against  which  He  had  warned  them. 

V.  44.  "Leaving  them,  having  gone  away,  He  prayed 
the  third  time,  speaking  the  same  word.  Then  He  comes 
to  His  disciples  and  says  to  them,  Sleep  on  and  take  your 
re&t.  Behold,  the  hour  has  come  and  the  Son  of  Man  is 
betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners.  Arise,  let  us  go :  be- 
hold, the  one  having  betrayed  me  is  at  hand."  By  this 
time  the  groves  of  Gethsemane  are  illuminated  with  a 
hundred  flambeaux  flaming  in  the  air,  and  though  the 
full  moon  was  shining  in  her  glory,  the  augmentation  of 
these  artificial  lights  made  it  bright  as  day.  It  was  ex- 
ceedingly important  to  have  an  abundance  of  light  in 
making  an  arrest  which  they  had  been  seeking  three 
years,  and  on  which  they  felt  that  the  vast  moment  of 
the  theocracy  and  hierarchy  was  hanging.  There  was 
great  liability  to  be  mistaken.  They  much  feared  that 
His  friends  might  maneuvre  to  put  off  on  them  some 
other  person,  and  fool  them  with  Him,  in  which  ca^e 
their  labor  would  all  be  in  vain.  So  when  the  light  pours 
into  Gethsemane,  He  immediately  speaks  to  His  disci- 
ples :  "Else  up  and  let  us  be  going" ;  i.  e.,  go  out  from 
the  dense  shade  of  the  great  olive  trees  into  the  clear 
light  of  the  moon  and  the  flambeaux. 

HE  IS  ARRESTED. 

John  18 :2-12.  "And  Judas,  the  one  having  betrayed 
Him,  knew  the  place,  because  Jesus  frequently  resorted 
thither  with  His  disciples.    Then  Judas,  having  taken 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  339 

the  band  and  the  officers  from  the  chief  priests  and  Phar- 
isees,  comes  thither  with  lanterns,  torches  and  arms/' 

Matt.  2Q>  :47-56.  "And  he  still  speaking;  behold,  Ju- 
das, one  of  the  twelve,  came  and  with  him  a  great  multi- 
tude with  swords  and  clubs,  from  the  chief  priests  and 
elders  of  the  people." 

John  18  :4.  "Then  Jesus,  knowing  all  things  coming 
upon  Him,  having  come  out,  said  to  them,  Whom  do 
you  seek  ?  They  responded  to  Him,  Jesus  the  Nazarene. 
Jesus  says  to  them,  I  am  He.  They  d-eparted  backward 
and  fell  upon  the  ground.  Then  again  He  asked  them, 
\\%om  do  you  seek?  And  they  said  Jesus,  the  Xaza- 
rene.  Jesus  responded,  I  said  to  you  that  I  am  He :  if 
then  you  seek  me,  let  these  depart,  in  order  that  the  word 
which  He  spoke  might  'be  fulfilled,  Those  whom  thou 
hast  given  unto  me,  I  have  lost  no  one  of  them." 

Now,  the  armed  rabble,  led  by  Judas  and  the  chief 
priests,  has  arrived  in  Gethsemane.  Jesus  leads  the  way, 
unhesitatingly  walking  out  to  them  and  saying  to  them. 
Whom  do  you  seek  ?  The  answer  comes  promptly,  Jesus, 
the  Nazarene.  What  a  wonderful  enigma  in  this  dark, 
wicked,  selfish  world  was  Jesus !  They  had  frequently 
come  to  crorwn  Him  King.  He  always  fled  away.  Now 
they  come  to  kill  Him  :  He  goes  promptly  to  meet  thera. 
A  great  difference  between  Him  and  all  other  men,  con- 
sisted in  the  fact  that  He  actually  knew  ever)rthing  that 
was  coming  on  Him.  In  His  Gethsemane  agony,  He 
saw  all  the  horrors  of  bloody  Calvary.  Now,  when  He 
turns  on  them  that  face  which  they  have  often  beheld, 
now  rendered  luminous  by  the  flambeaux,  so  they  know 
they  cannot  be  mistaken  as  to  His  identity  (all  of  which 
He  confirms  by  His  positive  confession),  an  awful  af- 


340  Life  of  Jesus  and  Eis  Apostles. 

fright  seizes  the  blood-thirsty  rabble.  It  chills  them 
with  the  horrors  of  a  nightmare,  bewildering  and  appal- 
ling them.  A  panic  sweeps  them,  and  overwhelms 
them,  they  step  backward,  stumble  and  fall  in  piles  on 
the  ground  like  dead  ni'en.  Our  Lord's  divinity  had 
often  delivered  Him  from  His  enemies,  from  the  time 
of  their  first  murderous  assault  at  Nazareth  till  this, 
the  last  moment  of  divine  intervention  in  His  behalf. 
Henceforth  the  powers  of  darkness  prevail.  Judas  had 
often  seen  them  try  to  arrest  Him,  when  suddenly  ren- 
dering Himself  invisible,  they  are  left  in  their  bewilder- 
ment. I  do  not  believe  Judas  thought  they  could  kill 
Him.  Having  yielded  to  Satan's  money-order,  he  con- 
cluded to  sell  Him  out  for  the  fifteen  dollars  (the  full 
price  of  a  grown  slave  in  that  age,  when  the  scarcity  of 
money  made  the  financial  estimate  quite  low)  ;  when, 
I  trow,  he  said,  "I  have  gotten  your  money  and  complied 
with  my  part  of  the  contract,  now  get  Him  if  you  can." 
I  trow  Judas  believed  in  His  divinity  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  did  not  believe  that  they  could  kill  Him.  This 
is  confirmed  by  his  subsequent  deportment.  When  he 
saw  that  they  were  killing  Him,  see  how  he  repented, 
threw  down  the  money,  and  even  committed  suicide. 

So  now  having  recovered  from  their  panic,  they  rise 
and  come  at  Him  again,  when  He  says,  "Whom  do  you 
seek?"  They  respond,  "Jesus,  the  Nazarene."  He  an- 
swers, "I  am  He."  Matt.  26 :48.  "The  one  having  be- 
trayed Him  gave  them  a  sign,  saying,  Whom  I  shall  kiss 
is  He;  hold  Him  fast.  And  immediately  coming  for- 
ward to  Jesus,  he  said.  Hail,  Master!  and  kissed  Him 
copiously.  And  Jesus  said  to  him.  Comrade,  for  what 
are  you  here?    Then  coming  forward,  they  laid  hands 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  341 

on  Jesus  and  bound  Him/'    John  18:12.    "Then  the 
band  and  chiliarch  and  the  officers  of  the  Jews  took 

Jesus  and  bound  Him." 

Three  years  they  have  been  after  Him  constantly; 
and  despite  all  they  can  do,  they  have  signally  failed  to 
get  their  hands  on  Him.  Now  they  are  determined  to 
make  sure  work  of  it.  Therefore,  not  only  the  chiliarch 
(an  officer  over  a  thousand),  but  also  the  officers  of  the 
chief  priests  and  scribes;  yea,  the  whole  band,  waive 
every  other  consideration  and  unite  in  His  capture. 
■  They  bind  Him  securely,  feeling  that  it  is  the  victory 
of  their  lives  finally  to  arrest  and  bind  and  secure  as  a 
prisoner  a  Man  who  has  given  them  and,  as  they  feel, 
the  whole  country,  so  much  trouble. 

V.  10.  "Then  Simon  Peter,  having  a  sword,  drew  it 
and  smote  the  servant  of  the  chief  priest  and  cut  off 
his  right  ear.  And  the  name  of  that  servant  was  Mal- 
chus.  Then  Jesus  said  to  Peter,  Put  the  sword  into  the 
scabbard:  the  cup  which  my  Father  has  given  to  me, 
shall  I  not  drink  it?"  Luke  22:50.  '^And  Jesus,  re- 
sponding, said.  Hold  on  a  minute;  and  touching  his 
ear.  He  healed  him."  He  had  wrought  many  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  miraculous  healings.  Now  this  is 
His  valedictor}^  on  that  line  of  His  wonderful  benefac- 
tions. Such  is  the  tender  and  quick  sympathy  of  His 
unfallen  human  spirit,  that  He  cannot  forbear  to  leave 
the  poor,  suffering  soldier  minus  his  ear. 

You  remember,  the  apostles  had  two  swords  with 
them.  Peter  leaps  to  the  conclusion  that  this  is  the 
time  for  sword  exercise.  He  was  very  characteristic 
of  natural  bravery,  actually  heroic  enough  to  fight  that 
whole  army.    You  see,  he  aimed  at  the  soldier's  head ; 


342  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  stroke  would  have  killed  him  instantaneously,  then 
he  would  have  taken  them  as  they  came.  While  Peter 
was  endowed  with  redouhtahle  physical  heroism,  he, 
like  all  others,  was  a  spiritual  coward  till  the  fires  of 
Pentecost  came  on  him  and  hurnt  up  his  depravity. 

Matt.  26  :53.  ''Do  you  not  think  that  I  am  able  now 
to  call  upon  my  Father,  and  He  will  give  me  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels?  How,  then,  may  the  Scrip- 
tures he  fulfilled,  because  thus  it  behooveth  to  be?" 
That  vast  army  of  angels  was  then  hovering  over  Geth- 
semane,  just  waiting  a  word  from  their  Father,  per- 
mitting them  to  dart  down  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye* 
snatch  Him  up  and  bear  Him  away  to  bright  glory. 

Now  Jesus  rebukes  the  diabolical  rabble  by  remind- 
ing them  that  He  had  not  been  teaching  the  people  ia 
secret,  but  in  the  Holy  Campus,  the  resort  of  the  myri- 
ads. Why,  then,  are  they  come  to  take  Him  with  an 
army,  and  swords,  and  clubs?  But  it  is  a  fulfillment 
'of  prophecy. 

Mark  14:15.  '^And  all  leaving  Him  fled  away.'* 
At  this  time,  the  circle  opened  for  an  outlet  (as  they 
had  surrounded  Him),  and  all  the  disciples  fled  away. 
The  enemy  thus  permitted  them  to  escape,  as  they  pre- 
ferred to  have  none  but  Jesus  on  their  hands  till  they 
disposed  of  Him.  He  had  been  an  eyesore  to  them  these 
three  years,  so  they  are  exultant  at  the  idea  of  getting 
rid  of  Him  at  any  cost. 

V.  51.  "And  a  certain  young  man  followed  Him, 
clothed  with  a  linen  garment  on  his  naked  body;  the 
young  men  take  him,  and  he,  leaving  the  linen  garment, 
fled  from  them  in  a  state  of  nudity."  History  says  this 
young  man,  who  at  that  fatal  moment  when  they  all  fled. 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  343 

followed  Jesus  as  He  was  led  by  His  enemies  out  of 
Geth&emane,  was  none  other  than  the  Apostle  John, 
who  fled  away  to  the  house  of  Eabbiamos  in  the  Metrop- 
olis. There  he  procured  the  robe  of  a  Jewish  priest,  in- 
vested in  which  he  returned,  took  his  place  by  the  side 
of  Jesus,  being  mistaken  by  the  soldiers  for  a  priest; 
and  though  known  to  Caiaphas,  the  high  priest,  (and  as 
the  Greek  infers,  akin  to  him),  he  did  not  reveal  his 
identity  to  him,  but  permitted  him  to  walk  along  by  the 
side  of  Jesus,  stand  by  Him  before  the  Sanhedrim,  at 
Pilate's  bar,  Herod's  judgment  hall,  walk  \Tith  Him  up 
Calvary,  and  stand  by  Him  through  the  six  awiul  hours 
He  hung  on  the  cross.  This  episode  of  historic  tradi- 
tion in  reference  to  John  is  confirmed  by  his  recognized 
presence  at  the  cross,  when  Jesus  commended  His  mother 
to  him. 

Luke  22 :53.  '^ut  this  is  your  hour,  and  the  power 
of  darkness."  Jesus  spoke  this  to  His  enemies  at  the 
time  that  they  came  with  the  army  and  took  Him  cap- 
tive, reminding  them  of  their  signal  failures  for  three 
entire  years,  when  He  was  accessible,  standing  before 
their  eyes  day  after  day  in  the  open  air  of  the  Temple 
Campus ;  but  now  He  says  to  them,  "This  is  your  hour, 
and  the  power  of  darkness'."  The  very  powers  of  hell 
had  then  been  permitted  to  come  to  the  front  of  the 
world,  lay  violent  hands  on  its  King  and  lead  Him  away 
to  death. 

Peter's  denial. 

John  18 :13.  "They  led  Him  first  to  Annas,  for  he 
was  the  father-in-law  of  Caiaphas,  who  was  high  priest 
that  year.     And  Caiaphas  was  the  one  counseling  tlie 


344  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Jews  that  it  was  better  t'hat  one  man  should  die  for  the 
people.  During  both  of  my  visits  to  Jerusalem,  I  was 
in  the  house  of  Caiaphas.  It  is  a  great,  Oriental  quad- 
rangular edifice,  like  all  other  houses  in  Jerusalem,  con- 
structed of  solid  stone,  consolidated  by  cement,  which 
in  that  country  gets  hard  as  rock.  The  tribunal  of  An- 
nas and  the  judgment  hall  of  the  Sanhedrim  were  in 
this  same  house.  At  that  time  there  was  a  controversy 
between  the  Jews  and  the  Eomans  in  reference  to  the 
high  prie's'thood,  the  latter  claiming  it  for  Annas,  and 
the  forme:?  lor  Caiaphas.  Now  it  is  midnight  and  im- 
possible to  icommand  a  full  Sanhedrim,  therefore  they 
spend  the  time  prosecuting  Him  at  the  tribunal  of  An- 
nas, moving  eventually  to  the  judgment  seat  of  Caia- 
phas. 

Now,  you  see  the  whereabouts  of  the  twelve :  Judas 
is  present  with  the  enemies;  John  under  the  disguise  of 
a  Jewish  priest;  Peter  following  on  at  a  distance,  while 
the  other  nine  have  fled  away  from  Gethsemane,  dis- 
persed, and  their  whereabouts  unknown. 

V.  15.  ^^Simon  Peter  and  the  other  disciple  followed 
Jesus,  and  that  disciple  was  known  to  the  high  priest 
and  came  into  the  court  of  the  high  priest  with  Jesus. 
And  Peter  stood  at  the  door  without.  Then  the  other 
disciple  came  out,  who  was  known  to  the  high  priest, 
and  spoke  to  the  female  porter  and  led  in  Peter.  And 
the  servants  and  officers,  having  made  a  fire,  stood  by  it, 
because  it  was  cold,  and  they  were  warming  themselves. '' 
The  Orientals  do  not  protect  themselves  from  the  cold 
by  clothing,  as  we  do.  Schedule  time  gives  this  April 
12,  when  the  nights  get  quite  cold  as  the  small  hour^ 
come  on.    This  great  quadrangular  building  had  an  in- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.         345 

terior  open  court,  for  light  and  ventilation.  In  this  the 
soldiers  and  servants  came  and  built  a  fire.  When 
Peter  conies  to  the  door,  John  goes  back,  intercedes  with 
the  woman  porter,  prevailing  on  her  to  let  him  in.  So, 
having  entered,  he  is  now  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the 
servants  and  officers  and  warming  by  the  fire. 

V.  17.  Then  the  female  door-keeper  says  to  Peter. 
"Are  you  not  of  the  disciples  of  that  Man  ?"  He  says,  ''I 
am  not."  You  remember  how  Jesus  that  very  night  at 
the  supper  table  told  Peter  that  he  would  thrice  deny 
Him  before  the  second  crowing  of  the  cock. 

Mark,  v.  18.  "And  he  went  out  into  the  portico  and 
the  cock  crew.  And  the  maidservant,  seeing  him  again, 
began  to  say  to  those  standing  by,  that  this  one  is  of 
them.  And  again  he  denied."  So  this  is  his  second  de- 
nial, after  leaving  the  fire  in  the  open  court  and  coming 
into  the  portico  in  front  of  the  judgment  hall,  where  the 
trial  is  in  progress. 

John,  V.  26.  "One  of  the  servants  of  the  high  priest, 
being  a  kinsman  of  the  one  whose  ear  Peter  cut  off,  says 
to  him,  Did  I  not  see  thee  with  Him  in  the  garden? 
Then  again  Peter  denied,  and  immediately  the  cock 
crew."  So  here  you  see  the  three  denials  of  Peter ;  the 
first  while  warming  by  the  fire  in  the  open  court  and 
accosted  by  the  damsel  door-keeper,  who  had  doubtless 
frequently  seen  him  with  Jesus,  so  that  she  identified 
his  person.  Having  evaded  the  issue  by  a  positive  denial 
and  come  into  the  portico,  after  two  hours  the  damsel 
again  accused  him  of  comradeship  with  Jesus.  It  is 
now  the  first  crowing  of  the  chickens,  and  Peter  denies 
again.  Tw'o  hours  more  have  rolled  away,  and  the  cousin 
of  Malchus   espies  and  identifies  him;  pressing  him 


346  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

closely,  he  charges  him  with  personal  presence  in  the 
garden,  where  he  did  his  best  to  kill  his  kinsman. 

Mark  14 :71.  "And  Peter  began  to  anathematize  and 
swear,  I  do  not  know  that  Man  of  whom  you  are  speak- 
ing." The  popular  idea  that  Peter  here  indulged  iu 
profanity  is  utterly  untrue.  The  word  anathematizein 
(curse — E.  V.),  simply  means  to  pronounce  an  anathe- 
ma. The  fact  is,  Peter  confirmed  his  denial  by  invok- 
ing a  calamity  on  himself  (e.  g.,  I  wish  I  may  die  if  I 
know  that  Man),  while  the  word  translated  swear, 
means  simply  an  oath  of  affirmation ;  e.  g.,  swearing  by 
the  temple,  et  cetera,  Peter's  case  here  is  bad  enough 
in  the  simple  fact,  whereas  the  popular  idea  that  he  gave 
way  to  profanity  and  blasphemy,  is  simply  untrue.  That 
he  lied  awfully  and  outrageously,  and  augmented  the  lie 
by  self-anathematization,  and  an  oath  of  affirmation  Is 
true,  and  awfully  bad. 

Luke  V.  60.  "And  immediately  he,  still  speaking, 
the  cock  crew.  The  Lord,  turning,  looked  upon  Peter. 
And  Peter  remem'bered  the  word  of  the  Lord  as  He 
spoke  to  him,  that  'before  the  cock  crows  you  will  deny 
me  thrice.  And  Peter,  having  gone  out,  wept  bitterly." 
Mark,  v.  72.  "And  Peter  remembered  the  word  that 
Jesus  spoke  to  him.  Before  the  cock  crows  twice  you 
will  deny  me  thrice.  And  having  cast  himself  forth,  he 
continued  to  weep."  The  second  shows  up  the  fact  that 
while  Peter  was  facing  the  cousin  of  Malchus,  and  so 
stoutly  denying  that  he  knew  Him,  and  at. the  same  time 
confirming  that  denial  by  anathematization  and  an  oath 
of  affirmation,  at  that  very  moment  the  cock  crows  the 
second  time,  reminding  Peter  of  his  Lord's  prophecy  at 
the  supper  table,  that  he  will  thrice  deny  Him  before 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  347 

the  second  crowing.  The  portico,  where  Peter  is  stand- 
ing, is  densely  crowded  with  people,  looking  on  the  trial 
which  is  going  on  before  Annas  and  Caiaphas.  Methinks 
a  slight  movement  among  the  bystanders  now  gives  Pe- 
ter a  momentary  view  of  Jesus,  who  turns  Hs  face  on 
him  and  hreake  his  heart.  Now  a  Ni-agara  of  conviction 
pours  down  on  him,  he  gets  away  with  all  possible  expe- 
dition, his  eyes  flowing  like  rivers;  yields  to  the  over- 
whelming penitential  tide,  gives  way  to  bitter  weeping, 
and  continues  to  weep. 

JESUS  IS  CONDEMNED  BY  CAIAPHAS  AND  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

John  18 :19.  *'Then  the  high  priest  asked  Jesus  con- 
cerning Hia  disciples  and  concerning  His  doctrine.  Je- 
sus responded  to  him :  I  openly  spoke  to  the  world.  I 
always  taught  in  the  s}Tiagogue  and  in  the  Temple, 
where  all  the  Jews  assemble;  I  spoke  nothing  in  secret; 
why  do  you  ask  me  ?  Ask  those  who  have  heard  what  I 
said  unto  them :  behold,  they  know  the  things  which  I 
said.  He,  having  spoken  these  things,  one  of  the  chief 
priests  standing  by  gave  Jesus  a  stroke  with  his  staff, 
saying,  Do  you  thus  respond  to  the  high  priest?  Jesus 
responded  to  him.  If  I  spoke  wickedly,  testify  concern- 
ing the  wickedness ;  but  if  truly,  why  do  you  smite  me  ? 
Then  Annas  sent  Him  bound  to  Caiaphas,  the  high 
priest.  This  was  dastardly,  cowardly  in  the  high  priest, 
to  attempt  to  force  Him  to  testify  against  Himself. 
Criminal  courts  never  resort  to  it  when  they  have  any 
other  source  of  legal  testimony;  and  when  they  do,  it 
ranks  in  law  as  the  weakest  of  all  evidence.  So  it  was 
preposterously  pusillanimous  on  the  part  of  the  high 


348  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

priest  to  call  on  Jesus  .to  testify  concerndng  His  teach- 
ing, when  all  Jerusalem,  Judea  and  Galilee  were  wit- 
nesses to  it,  and  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  ask  th^n. 

Luke  22  'M.  "And  when  it  was  day,  the  eldtership  of 
the  people,  the  chief  priests  and  scribes,  led  Him  into 
the  Sanhedrim."  The  arrest  took  place  about  midnight. 
They  have  used  all  the  time  prosecuting  Him  before  An- 
nas and  Caiaphas,  till  it  is  now  day  dewn.  Meanwhile 
they  have  had  runners  darting  in  all  directione,  waking 
up  the  absent  -elders  and  members  of  the  Sanhedrim,  to 
they  can  have  a  full  court.  They  are  under  an  awful 
pressure  in  the  matter,  as  their  plan  is  to  put  Him'  to 
death  before  day,  if  possible,  because  they  so  feared  the 
uprising  of  the  people.  While  Jesus  was  awfully  unpop- 
ular with  the  leading  officials  of  both  church  and  State, 
because  they  looked  upon  Him  as  a  rival  and  feared  that 
His  new  departure  w«>uld  result  in  their  official  dethrone- 
ment, they  for  a  long  time  h-ad  been  waiting  for  an  op- 
portunity to  kill  Him,  hut  were  afraid  of  the  people,  lest 
they  should  rise  «p  against  fhem  and  stone  them,  or 
otherwise  kill  them  on  the  spot,  for  they  well  knew  that 
the  multitude  were  on  His  side.  He  made  no  appoint- 
ments, yet  the  very  earth  trembled  with  the  tread  of  the 
multitudes  who  followed  Him  wheresoever  He  went. 
From  the  time  the  Holy  Ghost  came  and  filled  Him  at 
the  Jordan,  He  possessed  an  indefinable  magnetism, 
which  drew  the  people  after  Him  by  countless  thou- 
sands, whithersoever  He  went. 

Matt.  26  :59.  "The  chief  priest  and  elders,  and  the 
whole  Sanhedrim  were  seeking  false  testimony  against 
Jesus,  that  they  might  put  Him  to  death;  and  they 
found  none.  Many  false  witnesses,  having  come  forward, 


The  Valedictori/  Sermon  and  Prayer.  34:9 

they  found  none.  And  afterward  two  false  witnesses 
having  come  forward^  said  He  said,  1  am  able  to  de- 
stroy the  Temple  of  God,  and  to  build  it  in  three  days.*^ 
Mark  gives  it,  I  will  destroy  this  Temple  made  witli 
hands,  and  in  three  days  will  build  another  not  made 
with  hands.  You  see  their  strategic  tergerversation, 
with  diabolical  chicanery  and  stygian  duplicity,  persuant 
to  that  insatiate  thirst  for  His  blood  which  Satan  had 
been  settling  down  on  them  with  constantly  increasing 
and  intensifying  atrocity;  especially  since  the  second 
passover  of  His  ministry,  when  they  reached  the  cuhni- 
nation  of  their  malignity  and  determined  to  kill  Hira, 
thus  constraining  Him  to  absent  himself  from  Jerusa- 
lem til  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  sis  months  before  HL-^ 
crucifixion,  thus  taking  time  in  the  retirement  of  Galilee 
to  educate  His  disciples  and  launch  the  Gospel  Church. 
Meanwhile  the  high  priests  and  theologians,  co-operated 
by  all  the  demonical  sagacity  of  the  pandemoniium, 
wore  stirring  earth  and  hell  for  all  the  accusations 
they  could  get;  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  they  were 
false.  This  statement  about  destroying  the  Temple  and 
building  it  in  three  days,  He  made  during  His  first  Pass- 
over at  the  beginning  of  His  ministry,  and  they  never 
forget  it,  but  houncied  Him  with  it  everywhere  He  went, 
applying  it  to  the  superb  edifice  in  Mt.  ^loriah,  whereas 
He  meant  His  own  l>ody.  In  this  we  have  a  sample  of 
the  falsification  so  prevalent  in  all  ages.  It  is  not  de  no- 
vo lying,  but  such  a  modification  of  the  truth,  either  by 
addition  or  subtraction,  as  to  constitute  substantial 
lying. 

Matt.  26  :Cy2.     'The  high  priest,  rising  up.  said  to 
Him:     Do  you  answer  nothing?    What  are  they  wit- 


35^  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

nessing  against  you?  And  Jesus  was  silent;  and  the 
high  priest  responding,  said  to  Him,  I  adjure  thee,  by 
the  living  'God,  that  thou  tell  us  if  thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God.  Jesus  says  to  him.  Thou  hast  said  it/*' 
We  learn  a  lesson  from  the  silence  of  Jesus  on  tril,  by 
which  we  all  ought  to  profit,  viz. :  keep  silent  while  un- 
der temptation.  If  a  person  abuse  you,  or  misrepresent 
you,  follow  in  the  track  of  Jesus  and  keep  silent.  While 
they  were  witnessing  falsely  against  Him,  He  said  not 
a  word,  but  remained  perfectly  silent.  When  the  high 
priest  asked  Him  a  reasonable  question,  relative  to  Hi.^ 
Messiahship,  He  answered  him  in  the  affirmative.  Some 
Christians  think  it  wrong  to  take  legal  oaths.  We  see 
here  that  our  Saviour  responded  to  Caiaphas  under  oath, 
thus  giving  us  an  inf alible  example,  relative  to  that 
matter. 

V.  64.  "Moreover,  I  say  unto  you,  henceforth  you 
shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of 
power  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.^'  The  power 
here  mentioned  was  abundantly  manifested  in  His  res- 
urrection and  ascension,  which  followed  speedily;  while 
"the  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven"  will  not  take  place 
until  He  returns  to  the  earth  on  the  throne  of  His  mil- 
lennial glory.  '^Then  the  high  priest  rent  his  garments 
saying.  That  He  blasphemed ;  what  need  of  witnesses 
have  we  yet?  Behold,  you  have  heard  His  blasphemy! 
What  seemeth  good  to  you  ?  And  they,  responding,  said 
He  is  worthy  of  deathV'  Lev.  24:16.  "He  that  blas- 
phemeth  the  name  of  the  Lord,  he  shall  surely  be  put 
to  death,  and  all  the  congregation  shall  certainly  stone 
him."  This  is  the  law  of  Moses,  under  which  they  con- 
demned Jesus  to  die  for  the  sin  of  blasphemy.    You  see 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  361 

plainly  that  He  had  not  blasphemed;  yet  if  any  other 
person  claimed  to  be  the  Christ,  he  is  guilty  of  blas- 
phemy. So  you  see  they  condemned  Him  unjustly,  by 
misconstruing  the  great  truth  He  had  enunciated,  into 
blasphemy.  The  fact  is,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case, 
it  was  impossible  for  Him  to  avow  His  Me&siahship  with- 
out exposing  Himself  to  the  liability  of  accusation  and 
condemnation  for  blasphemy. 

y.  67.  "Then  they  spat  into  His  face  and  buffeted 
Him;  and  they  hit  Him  with  clubs,  saying,  Prophesy 
unto  us,  0  Christ,  who  is  the  one  smiting  you  ?"  Luke 
says  they  covered  His  face  and  continued  to  speak  many 
other  things  against  Him,  blaspheming.  Oriental  des- 
potisms were  always  horrifically  cruel.  It  was  custom- 
ary, when  a  person  was  condemned  to  die,  to  break  forth 
into  all  kinds  of  insults,  torture  and  every  conceivable 
maltreatment ;  thus,  as  they  thought,  corroborating  the 
judges  in  the  sentence  of  death  pronounced  against  him. 
It  is  a  significant  fact,  worthy  our  notice  at  this 
point,  that  they  condemned  Jesus  to  die  for  His  procla- 
mation of  His  second  and  glorious  coming.  You  see  the 
high  priest  almost  fell  into  a  spasm  of  indignation  over 
it,  manifesting  the  utmost  horror  by  tearing  his  robe. 
It  is  observable  that  the  higher  clergy  at  the  present  day 
are  apt  to  give  way  to  paroxysms  of  wrath  when  we  speak 
of  the  Lord''s  triumphant  return  to  the  earth. 

JESUS  BEFORE  PILATE. 

John  5 :28.  ^^hen  they  led  Jes-us  from  Caiaphas  to 
the  judgment  hall;  and  it  was  morning;  and  they  did 
not  come  into  the  judgment  hall  in  order  that  they  might 


352  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

not  be  defiled;  but  that  they  may  eat  the  Passover. 
Then  Pilate  came  out  to  them  and  said,  What  accusa- 
tion :do  you  bring  against  this  Man?  They  respondec} 
affd  said  to  him,  If  He  were  not  an  evil  doer,  we  would 
not  have  delivered  Him  to  thee.  Then  Pilate  said  to 
them.  You  take  Him  and  judg'e  .Him  according  to  your 
law.  Then  the  Jews  said,  It  is  irol  lawful  for  us  to  kill 
any  one  (in  order  that  the  word!  of  Jesus  may  be  ful-. 
filled,  which  He  spoke,  signifying  by  what  death  He  was 
about  to  die).  They  have  spent  the  whole  night  in  ter- 
rible haste,  fully  expecting  to  put  Him  to  death  before 
day,  as  they  were  afraid  of  a  papular  riot  in  His  behalf. 
Having  succeeded  in  pressing  through  their  mock-trial 
to  a  verdict  of  guilt  for  blasphemy,  they  at  once  hasten 
away  to  Pilate's  judgment  hall,  to  get  his  signature  to 
the  death-warrant,  for  Judea,  since  she  lost  her  govern- 
ment thirty-three  years  before,  had  no  longer  the  power 
of  capital  punishment,  but  was  dependent  on  her  Roman 
rulers  to  enforce  the  death  penalty.  Such  is  the  rush 
and  precipitation  to  get  Him  executed  before  the  news 
of  His  prosecution  should  fly  out  through  the  city  and 
suburbs,  that  they  rush  to  Pilate's  judgment  hall  about 
dawn,  which  was  as  early  as  they  could  expect  to  com- 
mand his  service.  They  thought  that  he  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  favor  them  by  signing  the  death-warrant.  Now. 
why  do  they  demand  of  Pilate  his  signature  without  pre- 
senting to  him  a  bill  of  the  charges  on  which  He  was 
condemned?  It  was  because  the  condemnation  was  for 
blasphemy,  which  was  entirely  unknown  in  Roman  law; 
consequently  they  were  afraid  to  present  their  bill  of 
charges,  lest  Pilate  would  throw  it  out  of  court  and  they 
would  be  utterly  defeated.     In  this  they  acted  wisely, 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  353 

as  there  is  no  doubt  that  Pilate  would  have  thrown  it 
out  of  court  as  a  non-sequitur  in  Roman  law.  ^Ye  have 
this  illustrated  in  case  of  Paul's  arraignment  before 
Oallio  (Acts  18),  when  the  Jews  brought  Paul  to  his 
tribunal,  charged  with  "teaching  the  people  to  worship 
God  contrary  to  law."  But  Gallio,  the  Roman  governor, 
threw  it  out  of  court,  declaring  that  he  would  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  any  of  their  affairs  concerning  their  re- 
ligion. Then  the  people  turned  on  Sosthenes,  the  chief 
ruler  of  the  synagogue,  in  succession  of  Crispos,  who 
had  been  converted  to  Christianity,  and  gave  him  a 
thrashing  in  the  presence  of  the  pro-consul,  who  winked 
at  the  whole  matter.  It  seems  that  this  flogging  proved 
a  'blessing  to  Sosthenes,  for  when  we  hear  of  him  again 
he  is  not  only  converted  to  Christianity,  but  is  a  mis- 
sionary with  Paul,  helping  him  preach  in  Ephesus  (1 
Cor.  1:1). 

Therefore,  the  Jews,  now  that  they  have  condemned 
Jesus,  are  unwilling  to  take  the  risk  of  specifying  their 
charge,  lest  Pilate  would  throw  it  out  of  court,  and  they 
would  be  at  their  wits'  ends;  consequently  they  first 
make  a  vigorous  effort  to  secure  the  death-warrant  of 
their  prisoner  without  any  speification.  Having  signally 
failed  in  this,  they  change  the  allegation  altogether; 
dropping  the  charge  of  blasphemy,  which  was  unknown 
in  Roman  law,  they  resorted  at  once  to  that  of  high  trea- 
son, which  was  rife  and  very  current  in  all  the  world,  as 
QYeiy  nation  under  heaven-  had  lost  its  government  and 
was  cringing  under  the  yoke  of  universal  Roman  despot- 
ism; reibellions  breaking  out  here  and  there  in  all  the 
world  and  suppressed  by  Roman  arms,  the  leaders  be- 
ing executed  for  high  treason. 


354  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles 

V.  33.  "Then  Pilate  went  again  into  the  judgment 
hall,  called  Jesus,  and  said  to  Him,  Art  Thou  the  King 
of  the  Jews?  Jesus  responded  to  him,  Do  you  say  this 
from  yourself,  or  did  others  speak  to  you  concerning 
me?  And  Pilate  responded,  Whether  am  I  a  Jew? 
Thine  own  nation  and  the  chief  priests  have  delivered 
Thee  to  me;  what  hast  Thou  done?  Jesus  responded, 
My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  If  my  kingdom  were 
of  this  world,  my  servants  would  fight  in  order  that  T 
might  be  delivered  to  tl^e  Jews ;  but  now  my  kingdom  is 
not  from  thence.  Then  Pilate  said  to  Him,  Then,  art 
Thou  not  a  king?  Jesus  responded,  Thou  sayest  that  I 
am.  Unto  this  I  was  born,  and  unto  this  have  I  come 
into  the  world,  that  I  may  testify  to  the  truth.  Every- 
one who  is  of  the  truth  heareth  my  voice.  Pilate  says  lO 
Him,  What  is  truth  ?  And  having  said  this,  he  went  lo 
the  Jews  and  said  to  them,  I  find  no  crime  in  Him." 
You  often  see  on  crosses  at  Roman  Catholic  cemeteries 
and  other  places,  superscribed  inri.  It  is  a  word  of  ini- 
tials, i  standing  for  lesus  (Jesus),  n  for  Nazarenus  (the 
Nazarene),  r  for  rex  (king),  and  i  for  iondaiorum  (of 
the  Jews) ;  hence  the  inri  means  "Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
King  of  the  Jews.^^  This  was  the  superscription  writ- 
ten on  the  cross  above  His  head  in  Latin,  G-reek  and 
Hebrew,  so  everybody  passing  by  could  read  it.  Thus 
it  turned  out  that  Jesois  was  condemned  and  crucified 
under  charge  of  claiming  to  be  King  of  the  Jews,  which 
was  high  treason  in  Roman  law.  Some  claim  that  His 
statement  to  Pilate — "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world'* 
— is  incompatible  with  His  millennial  reign  on  the 
earth.  Such  a  conclusion  is  an  illogical  non-sequitwi-^  as 
the  fact  of  its  not  being  from  this  world  is  no  reason 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  355 

why  it  should  not  bear  rule  over  this  world.  Jesus 
brought  the  kingdom  of  grace  with  Him  in  His  first  ad- 
vent, which  supersedes  the  old  dispensation  of  symhol^ 
and  ceremonies  and  consists  of  righteousness,  peace  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  (Rom.  14:17),  and  now  bears 
rule  throughout  Christendom;  yet  it  is  not  of  this 
world. 

During  this  dialogue  between  Pilate  and  Jesus,  we 
see  the  sad  verdict  that  the  Roman  government  is  not 
of  this  kingdom  of  truth,  and  consequently  hears  not  the 
voice  of  Jesus.  Though  Jesus  confessed  to  Pilate  that 
He  was  King,  and  that  His  dominion  was  truth,  he 
was  utterly  incompetent  to  form  the  slightest  concep- 
tion of  such  a  kingdom.  Cultured  as  he  was,  in  the  mil- 
itary barracks  and  on  the  battlefield  all  his  life,  having 
never  heard  of  a  spiritual  kingdom,  and  seeing  no  sign 
of  military  parade  or  power  about  Jesus ;  yea,  nothing 
but  a  lonely  Man,  without  even  a  friend,  much  less  a 
military  cohort,  or  an  army,  he  took  it  for  granted  that 
Jesus  was  a  visionary  philosopher,  dreaming  that  He 
was  a  King  reigning  over  a  visionary  kingdom,  which 
He  calls  truth,  and  of  which  Pilate  ha'd  but  the  vaguest 
conception,  if  any  whatever.  So  He  quickly  makes  up 
his  mind  that  there  is  no  harm  in  the  "Prisoner  standing 
at  his  bar;  consequently  he  return^  vWith  a  verdict  of 
innocence. 

Matt.  27  :12.  "And  while  I  ^'e  accused  by  the  chief 
priests  and  the  elders.  He  responds  nothing.  Then 
Pilate  says  to  Him,  Do  you  not  hear  how  many  thinge 
they  witness  against  Thee?  And  He  responded  to  him 
not  one  word,  so  that  the  governor  marveled  exceeding- 
ly."   Here  we  have  His  example  of  utter  silence  while 


356  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

under  accusation  by  His  enemies.  Lord  help  us,  when 
falsely  accused,  pursuant  to  Thine  own  example,  to  say 
not  a  word. 

Luke  23  :4.  "And  Pilate  said  to  the  chief  priest  and 
the  multitudes,  I  find  nothing  criminal  in  this  man ;  and 
they  became  stronger  and  stronger,  saying  that  He  ex- 
cites the  people,  teaching  throughout  all  Judea,  beginr 
ning  from  Galilee  till  here/'  We  find  the  same  accusa- 
tion this  day  addticed  against  eve:ry  flaming  revivalist, 
going  through  the  country  like  a  cyclone  of  fire,  every- 
where stirring  up  the  people.  The  dead  preachers  and 
carnal  church  officers  close  the  doors  against  Him,  be- 
cause He  excites  the  people. 

Now,  as  their  charge  of  high  treason  has  literally 
failed,  Pilate  ignoring  it  altogetlier,  and  bringing  in  a 
verdict  of  innocence,  an-d  annunciating  unconditionally 
that  he  finds  nothing  criminal  in  Him,  His  enemies  are 
aivfully  disconcerted),  and  at  their  wits^  end,  and  they  go 
to  hunting  up  every  trivial  thing  they  can  possibly  ad- 
duce against  Him. 

JESUS  BEFORE  HEROD. 

Luke  23  :6.  "And  Pilate  hearing  of  Galilee,  asked  if 
He  is  a  Galilean  man ;  and  learning  that  He  is  of  Her- 
od's jurisdiction,  sent  Him  away  to  Herod,  being  himself 
also  in  Jerusalem  in  those  days."  As  Herod  was  pro- 
consul of  Galilee  as  well  as  King  of  I^mea  and  Perea, 
he  made  it  a  rule  to  attend  the  great  festivals  at  Jeru- 
salem, as  thousan<5s  of  his  subjects  would  be  there.  Con- 
sequently, he  had  a  judgment  ?iall  there  for  the  adjudi- 
cation of  all  matters  belonging  to  his  jurisdiction.    Oon- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Pmy^^f  367 

sequently  Pilate  gladly  sends  Jesus  away  to  Herod,  de 
lighted  with  the  thought  of  getting  rid  of  the  compli- 
cated and  vexed  case,  seemingly  attended  by  so  much  dif- 
ficulty— an  innocent  man,  for  whose  blood  an  infuriated 
rabble  are  so  uproarious  and  incorrigible,  that  he  is  puz- 
zled beyond  all  his  gumption. 

V.  8.  "And  Herod,  seeing  Jesus,  rejoiced  exceeding- 
ly; for  he  was  wishing  for  a  long  time  to  see  Him,  for 
he  was  hearing  many  things  concerning  Him;  and  he 
was  hoping  to  see  some  miracle  wrought  by  Him."  They 
had  no  mail  facilities,  nor  newspapers^  but  were  depend- 
ent upon  the  people  to  communicate  the  news  viva  voce. 
Joanna,  the  wife  of  Chuza,  the  steward  of  Herod,  was  a 
diseiple  of  Jecus,  traveling  with  Him,  ministering  unto 
Him,  and  helping  in  His  work.  Consequently,  her  peri- 
odical visits  hofiie  to  Herodf's  palace  kept  him  and  his 
court  constantly  stirred  up  with  the  newa  of  the  mighty 
works  which  Jesus  was  doing. 

V.  9.  "He  asked  Him  in  many  words;  and  He  re- 
sponded to  him  nothing.  But  the  chief  priests  and 
scribes  were  standing  by,  violently  accusing  Him.  And 
Herod  having  treated  Him  with  contempt,  along  with  his 
soldiers,  and  mocked  Him,  and  having  put  on  Him  a 
scarlet  robe,  he  sent  Him  back  to  Pilate.  Pilate  and 
Herod  on  the  same  day  became  friends  with  one  another, 
for  they  were  hitherto  accustomed  to  be  in  hostility  to- 
ward each  other."  Here  you  see  that  Jesus  played  dum- 
my on  him  all  the  way  through,  never  answering  him  a 
single  word,  thus  treating  his  majesty  with  utter  con- 
tempt. Though  His  enemies  stood  by  and  violently  ac- 
cused Him  of  many  things,  none  of  them  succeeded  in 
the  elicitation  of  a  single  word.     Consequently  Herod 


358  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

winds  up  the  trial  by  putting  on  Him  an  old  scarlet  robe, 
thus  dressing  Him  up  like  a  king  and  sending  Him  back 
to  Pilate,  settling  down  in  the  same  conclusion  with 
Pilate,  that  He  was  simply  a  visionary  philosopher,  imag- 
ining that  He  was  a  King  of  the  Jews;  but  in  the  utter 
absence  of  any  show  on  the  military  line,  he  has  no  idea 
that  He  can  do  any  harm,  even  if  He  does  claim  to  be  a 
rival  of  Caesar.  Therefore  he  humors  the  joke  by  invest- 
ing Him  in  the  royal  costume,  and  thus  mocking  His 
claims  to  the  kingdom.  Oh,  what  a  grievous  disappoint- 
ment to  Pilate  when  they  bring  back  the  Prisoner !  He 
had  congratulatedl  himself  upon  getting  rid  of  the  awful 
responsibility.  The  inspired  historian  here  notifies  us 
of  the  reconciliation  of  these  two  rival,  ambitious  politi- 
cians, who  for  some  time  had  been  notorious  for  their 
mutual  antipathy. 

BARABBAS  DEMANDED. 

Luke  23  :13.  ''And  Pilate,  calling  together  the  chief 
priests  and  rulers  and  people,  said  to  them,  You  have 
brought  to  me  this  Man,  as  revolutionizing  the  people, 
and  behold  I  have  judged  Him  in  your  presence  and 
found  nothing  in  Him  criminal  concerning  those  things 
with  Tviiich  you  charge  Him ;  neither  did  Herod,  for  1 
sent  you  to  him,  and  behold  nothing  has  been  done  by 
Him  worthy  of  death ;  therefore,  having  scourged  Him, 
I  will  release  Him/'  This  scourging  was  a  most  horrific 
punishment,  and  only  inflicted)  upon  the  worst  criminals, 
as  a  terror  to  all  evil-d'oers.  When  I  was  a  boy,  they 
used  cow-hide  horse-whips,  not  only  on  animals,  but  also 
on  slaves.    It  was  cruel  in  the  extreme.    This  scourging 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  359 

under  the  Eoman  Government  was  infinitely  worse,  as 
their  cow-hide  was  filled  with  steel  points,  which  so  hor- 
rifically  lacerated  the  flesh  that  the  poor  yictim  fre- 
quently dropped  dead  under  the  operation.  They  always 
adSministered  it  to  convicts  before  crucifixion.  Though 
both  Pilate  and  Herod  have  dismissed  Jesus,  pronounc- 
ing Him  innocent,  yet  to  satisfy  His  blood-thirsty  ene- 
mies, barking  like  blood-hounds  and  roaring  like  lions, 
vociferously  clamoring  for  His  blood,  Pilate  now  lights 
on  the  policy  of  scourging  Him,  hoping  thereby  to  satisfy 
their  diabolical  thirst  for  blood,  and  prodtuce  a  reaction 
in  His  favor ;  so  they  would  become  sympathetic,  their 
demoniacal  hatred  giving  way  to  pity,  and  would  say, 
"He  has  suffered  enough,  let  Him  go.'' 

Matt.  27  :15.     "And  during  the  feast  the  Governor 
was  accustomed  to  release  unto  them  one  prisoner  whom 
they  wished.    But  they  had  at  that  time  a  noted  prison- 
er, called  Barabbas.     Therefore,  they  being  assembled, 
Pilate  said  unto  them,  Which  one  do  you  wish  that  I 
shall  release  unto  you:     Barabbas,   or  Jesus,  the  one 
called  Chrisit  ?    For  he  knew  on  account  of  envy  they  had 
delivered  Him.     But  sitting  on  his  tribunal,  his  wife 
sent  to  him  saying,  Let  there  be  nothing  to  thee  and  that 
just  one,  for  I  suffered  many  things  this  day  in  a  dream 
on  account  of  Him.     And  the  chief  priests  and  elders 
persuaded  the  multitudes  that  they  should  ask  for  Barab- 
bas, and  destroy  Jesus."    The  Eoman  Judgment  Hall  in 
Jerusalem  is  near  the  east  wall  of  the  city,  in  the  valley 
between  Mt.  Moriah  on  the  south,  and  Mt.  Bezetha  on 
the  north.     History  says  that  Lucia  Metella,  the  gov- 
ernor's wife,  was  at  their  suburban  home  in  Bethany. 
As  it  was  the  great  Passover  festival,,  when  the  city  was 


360  Life  of  Jesiis  and  His  Apostles. 

crowded  with  people  from  the  ends  of  tne  earth,  the 
governor  was  much  pressed  with  otiicial  business,  and 
was  at  his  tribunal  at  all  hours,  late  and  early.  Some 
say  that  efforts  were  made  to  get  him  to  his  tribunal 
before  day,  as  their  plan  was  to  avail  themselves  of 
night's  dark  mantJle  to  perpetrate  the  blood^r  tragedy; 
but  they  were  unxieir  the  necessity  of  waiting  on  Pilate 
until  day,  by  the  hardest,  commanding  his  service  the 
moment  the  fair-fingered  aurora  gilded  the  Oriental 
skies,  flashing  her  morning  glories  over  the  heights  of 
Mt.  Olivet;  the  meanwhile  his  royal  spouse  enjoyed  her 
morning  nap.  Pilate  has  resorted  to  every  conceivable 
measure  to  release  Jesus,  repeatedly  proclaiming  His 
innocence,  though  apparently  in  vain,  the  diabolical  rab- 
ble, led  by  the  chief  priests,  rendering  themselves  hoarse 
roaring  for  His  blood.  He  thinks  the  stratagem  with 
Barabbas  will  surely  win,  as  he  was  a  notorious  robber- 
chief,  who  had  been  the  terror  of  all  the  people.  He 
had  committed  so  much  murder  and  robbery  with  his 
banditti,  and  with  great  difficulty  had  been  caught  by 
the  Eoman  soldiers  and  imprisoned  under  sentence  of 
death.  Pilate  now  gives  them  choice  between  the  two — 
Jesus  and  Barabbas — entertaining-  no  doubt  but  they 
will  clamor  for  the  latter.  In  this  he  is  signally  defeat- 
ed. To  his  own  unutterahle  surprise  and  alarm,  the 
crowds  are  rapidly  gathering,  and  it  seems  that  a  bloody 
revolution  is  destined  to  break  out  on  the  spot,  heaping 
the  city  with  the  dead.  At  this  awful  crisis  a  man  ar- 
rives with  a  letter  from  his  wife.  He  is  so  excited,  aim- 
ing to  read  it  to  himself,  he  is  overheard.  History  says 
the  letter  read-:  "Oh,  my  husband,  have  thou  nothing 
with  that  just  Man,  for  He  is  a  god.    This  day  in  a  vis- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  361 

ion  I  saw  Him  siMing  on  the  Olympus,  and  all  the  gods 
and  goddesses  hurling  their  glittering  crowns  at  His 
feet !  Oh,  I  tell  you,  He  is  one  of  our  gods."  (  She  be- 
lieved Him  to  be  one  of  the  Roman  gods.)  This  brought 
Pilate  into  an  awful  dilemma. 

V.  21.  "And  the  governor  responding,  said  to  them, 
"Wliich  one  of  the  two  do  you  wish  that  I  shall  release 
unto  you?  And  they  said,  Barabbas.  Pilate  says  to 
them,  ^\Tiat  shall  I  do  with  Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ? 
They  all  say  to  him.  Let  Him  be  crucified.  The  gover- 
nor said,  For  what  evil  has  He  done  ?  And  they  contin- 
ued to  cry  out  more  abundantly.  Crucify  Him. 

Luke  V.  23.  "And  they  continued  to  lay  on  with 
great  voices,  demanding  that  He  should  be  crucified; 
and  the  voices  of  them  and  the  chief  priesd:s  continued 
to  get  stronger  and  stronger.''  Thus  3^^  see  the  chief 
priests  got  the  run  on  the  multitude  b}-^  their  money  and- 
influence,  so  capturing  them  that  they  literally  became 
mouth-pieces  for  them,  the  clergy  sendng  as  buglemen 
for  the  unToarious  rabble.  Though  they  had  aimed  to 
kill  Him  in  the  night  because  they  so  feared  the  people, 
having  arrested  Him  at  midnight,  though  they  have 
toiled  hard  every  moment  since,  till  it  is  now  8  a.  m. ;  yet 
the  news  flpng  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  everjnvhere,  has 
the  whole  city  on  tiptoe;  meanwhile  the  tidings  have 
gotten  out  into  the  country  and  the  people  are  pouricg 
from  every  ddrection.  Truly  the  crisis  has  culminated. 
His  enemies  are  going  to  kill  Him  at  any  cost,  and  Pilate 
sees  that  His  friends  are  rallying,  and  are  going  to  fight 
for  Him,  while  His  enemies  already  have  an  army  on 
the  spot. 

Matt.  27  :24.    "And  Pilate,  seeing  that  he  is  profiting 


362  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

nothing,  but  the  mob  rises  more  and  more,  having  taken 
water  and  wasfhed  his  hands  in  the  presence  of  the  multi- 
tude, he  said :  I  am  innocent  of  the  hlood  of  this  right- 
eous man :  you  shall  see  to  it.  And  all  the  people  re- 
sponding, said.  His  blood  be  upon  us  and)  our  children. 
Then  he  released  un-to  them  Barabbas."  History  says 
that  Pilate  at  that  time  was  very  short  of  soldiers,  hav- 
ing recently  sent  away  the  main  body  to  quell  an  insur- 
rection in  Syria.  Being  unable  to  command  a  sufficient 
military  force  to  keep  down  the  insurrection  which  he 
saw  developing  on  all  sides  and  threatening  to  deluge  the 
city  with  blood,  he  finally  acquiesced,  simply  signing  the 
death-warrant  of  Jesus  as  a  peace  measure.  This  he  did 
pursuant  to  a  policy  common  among  Oriental  monarchs, 
who  considered  it  better  that  one  innocent  man  should 
die,  than  that  many  innocent  people  should  be  slaugh- 
tered. Xow  he  resorts  to  his  final  protestation  of  guilt- 
lessness from  the  innocent  blood,  by  washing  his  hands 
before  the  multitude,  symbolizing  thereby  his  own  abso- 
lution from  all  responsibility.  An  English  nobleman  a 
few  years  ago  died  (as  the  people  thought)  and  went  to 
hell.  After  a  comatose  state  of  a  few  days,  during  which 
interment  was  postponed,  on  account  of  certain  lingering 
vital  phenomena,  he  revived  and  wrote  a  book  titled 
"Letters  from  Hell/'  in  which  he  relates  many  things 
which  he  saw  in  the  regions  of  the  lost;  took  the  alarm 
for  himself,  repented,  and  was  saved;  though  before  all 
of  this  took  place,  he  was  a  church  member  and  thought 
he  was  a  Christian.  Among  other  scenes  related  in  that 
book  is  a  brief  expisode  in  reference  to  Pilate.  He  says 
he  was  walking  alone  on  the  bank  of  the  Eiver  of  Death, 
which  is  as  black  as  tar,  and  there  he  saw  a  man  stand- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  363 

ing  at  the  edge  and)  washing  his  hands,  endieavoring  to 
wasli  the  blood  from  them  in  the  cold,  black  water  of 
that  river;  but  he  saw  he  did  not  get  any  of  the  blood 
off.  While  contemplating  him,  Satan  comes  walking 
along  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  he  accosts  him. 
"Please  tell  me  about  this  man;  I  have  been  standing 
here  some  time  looking  at  him  trying  to  wash  the  blood 
from  his  hands ;  but  I  see  he  makes  no  progress."  Sa- 
tan responds,  "Oh,  that  man's  name  is  Pilate !  He  came 
from  Jerusalem  to  this  place  1800  years  ago,  and 
stopped  right  there  where  you  now  see  him,  and  has 
been  all  the  time  laboring  to  wash  the  blood  from  his 
hand^s;  but  you  see  this  black  water  does  not  take  it  off.'^ 
Really,  the  river  is  more  like  tar  than  water.  You  see 
here  the  people  chose  Barab^bas  instead  of  Jesus. 

N.  B. — If  you  get  truly  sanctified,  walk  in  the  foot- 
prints of  Jesus,  and  live  a  holy  life  before  the  world, 
the  people  will  treat  you  no  better  than  they  treated 
Him.  You  may  expect  them  to  choose  bad  people  in- 
stead of  you.  Do  not  be  surprised  if  they  actually  think 
the  saloon-keeper  a  more  honorable  citizen  than  your- 
self. Rest  assured,  the  false  prophet  will  be  popular, 
and  you  will  be  odious. 

You  see  here  the  awful  imprecation  which  the  Jews, 
actuated  by  the  high  priests  and  the  devil,  invoked  on 
their  unborn  posterity :  "His  blood  be  upon  us  and  our 
children."  No  tongue  can  ever  tell  the  awful  horrors 
which  came  on  those  very  people  in  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  when  a  million  fell  by  sword,  pestilence  and 
famine;  a  million  more  sold  into  slavery,  and.'  the  re- 
mainder led  captive  to  Rome,  there  to  enter  into  imperial 
bondage. 


364  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

PILATE^S    LAST   RESORT. 

Matt.  27:26.  Now  Pilate  subjects  Him  to  that  aw- 
ful, cruel  scourging,  which  literally  tears  His  flesh  to 
pieces.  'Then  the  soldiers  gather  around  Him,  invest 
Him  with  mock  royalty;  the  scarlet  robe,  the  thorny 
cro^n,  and  a  reed  in  His  hand  for  a  royal  scepter ;  mean- 
while they  bow  their  knees  around  him,  shouting,  'Hail, 
King  of  the  Jews !"  Spitting  upon  Him,  they  take  the 
reed  and  strike  Him  on  the  head.  Luke  says  they  hit 
Him  with  the  clubs,  which,  along  with  the  swords,  con- 
stituted their  armor. 

John  19  'A.  "Then  Pilate  again  came  out  and  said 
to  them.  Behold,  I  lead  Him  out  to  you,  that  you  may 
know  that  I  find  n*othing  criminal  in  Him.  Then  Je- 
sus came  out  bearing  the  thorny  crown  and  the  purple 
robe.  And  he  says  to  them.  Behold  the  Man!  Then, 
when  the  chief  priests  and  officers  saw  Him,  they  cried 
out,  saying,  Crucify  Him,  Crucify  Him!  Pilate  says 
to  them.  You  take  Him  and  crucify  Him,  for  I  find 
nothing  criminal  in  Him.  The  Jews  responded  to  him 
We  have  a  law,  and  according  to  our  law.  He  ought  to 
die,  because  He  made  Himself  the  Son  of  God.'^  During 
both  of  my  visits  to  Pilate's  Judgment  Hall  in  Jerusa- 
lem, I  looked  upon  the  doorway  through  which  Pilate 
led  Him  out,  because  the  scourging  took  place  within  the 
Judgment  Hall,  and  the  Jews  would  not  enter  it  lest 
they  might  defile  themselves  and  be  thus  disqualified  for 
partaking  of  the  Passover.  So  the  multitude  were  stand- 
ing out  in  front  of  the  judgment  hall.  The  luminous 
statue  of  Jesus  now  shines  on  the  wall  albove  the  door, 
subscribed  with  the  words  which  Pilate  said  when  he 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer  365 

led  Him  out,  because  -the  s<!ourging  took  place  within  the 
hall  itself.  Though  the  church  is  founded  in  sanctifi- 
cation,  the  leading  clergy  and  the  official  laymen  have 
no  trouble  now  to  find  a  law  to  turn  out  sanctified  peo- 
ple. No  wonder,  for  the  devil  is  as  accommodating  now 
as  he  was  in  the  days  of  Christ.  The  fallen  church  had 
a  law  to  kill  Him  and  the  martyrs ;  and  to  this  day  it 
has  one  to  turn  out  everybody  who  gets  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

V.  8.  "Then  when  Pilate  heard  these  words,  he 
feared  the  more.  And  he  came  again  into  the  judgment 
hall  and  said  to  Jesus,  Whence  art  Thou?  And  Jesus 
gave  him  no  answer.  Then  Pilate  says  to  Him,  Do  you 
not  speak  to  me  ?  Do  you  not  know  that  I  have  power  to 
crucify  Thee ;  and  I  have  power  to  release  Thee  ?"  Je- 
sus responded.  You  have  no  power  against  me,  unless  it 
were  given  unto  you  from  above :  therefore,  the  one  hav- 
ing betrayed  me  to  thee,  hath  the  greater  sin.  From 
this,  Pilate  eontinued  to  seek  to  release  Him:  but  the 
Jews  continued  to  cry  out  saying.  If  you  release  Him, 
you  are  not  Caesar^s  friendi:  everyone  saying  that  He  is 
King,  speaketh  against  Caesar."  Pilate  thinks,  by  the 
scourging,  to  not  only  satisfy  His  enemies,  but  to  pro- 
voke their  pity ;  so  he  leads  Him  out,  bleeding  all  over, 
lacerated  most  cruelly,  and  says,  "Behold^  the  Man !" — 
i.  e.,  just  look  at  Him !  But  the  priests  were  full  of 
the  very  venom  of  'Satan.  Then  the  Jews  make  the  as- 
sault on  Pilate,  impeaching  his  loyalty  to  the  Emperor, 
assuring  him  that  they  would  inform  against  him  and 
have  him  deposed.  Pilate  was  in  an  awful  and  frightful 
dilemma,  when  the  Jews  brought  the  charge  that  He 
taidi  He  was  the  Son  of  God;  for  the  Romans  had  many 


366  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

gods,  and  they  believed  that  they  frequently  walked  on 
earth  in  human  form.  Therefore,  Pilate  was  awfully 
impressed  that  he  was  dealing  with  some  one  of  the  Ro- 
man gods,  and  when  Jesus  told  him  that  he  had  no  power 
against  Him,  unless  it  was  given  from  above,  he  became 
alarmed  more  and  more,  lest  he  might  be  dealing  with 
the  immortal  gods.  Further,  the  Jews  are  on  him,  his 
popularity  with  the  Emperor  is  endangered,  and  they 
threaten  him  with  arraignment  before  his  majesty.  A 
corrupt  politician  will  jeopardize  his  own  soul  for  office. 
Then  Pilate,  hearing  this  word,  led  out  Jesus  and  sat 
down  on  his  tribunal  in  a  place  called  The  Pavement  (in 
Hebrew,  gahetha),  and  says  to  the  Jews,  Behold,  your 
King !  And  they  cried  out.  Take  Him  away !  Take  Him 
away !  Crucify  Him !  Pilate  says  to  them.  Shall  I  cru- 
cify your  King?  And  the  chief  priests  responded.  We 
have  no  king  but  Caesar.  Then  he  delivered  Him  up 
to  them,  that  He  may  be  crucified.  Here  we  see  Pilate's 
last  appeal ;  he  endeavors  to  arouse  their  national  pride. 
They  had  lost  their  kingdom  thirty-three  years  ago,  and 
ever  since  had  been  ruled  by  the  Eomans,  to  their  sad 
and  awful  discontentment.  The  chief  priests  were  really 
the  leaders  of  the  Anti-Eoman  party,  who  were  so  anx- 
ious to  regain  their  own.  king  once  more.  So  now  Pilate 
attempts  to  arouse  the  latent  spark  of  their  national  pa- 
triotism, by  saying  to  them,  "Behold,  your  King:"  i.  e., 
Here  is  your  King,  and  shall  I  crucify  Him !  Crucifix- 
ion then  signified  what  hanging  does  now.  Oh,  what  a 
disgrace  upon  a  nation  for  their  king  to  be  hanged !  But 
this  last  resort  of  Pilate  fails,  and  he  finally  acquiesces, 
and  delivers  Him  up  to  be  crucified.  Here  Pilate  sac- 
rifices principle,  playing  the  part  of  a  corrupt,  ambitious 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  367 

politician;   holding  on  to  his  office  and  shunning  what 
might  bring  him  into  depreciation  with  the  Emperor. 
Yet  at  the  same  time  he  did  everything  in  his  power  to 
save  the  life  of  Jesus,  without  a  regular  and  open  con- 
flict with  the  Jewish  authorities,  which,  pursuant  to 
their  threats,  would  certainly  have  brought  him  into 
trouble  with  Csesar.     Yet,  after  he  had  sacrificed  all 
honor  and  justice  and  rectitude  to  secure  Jewish  favor, 
and  through  them  keep  on  the  good  side  of  the  Emperor; 
yet  from  that  awful  tragedy  fortune's  wheel  began  to 
revolve  against  him;    he  became  unpopular  with  the 
Jews,  and  so  odious  that  they  impeached  him  to  the  Em- 
peror.    Consequently  he  held  his  office  only  two  years 
more,  when  he  was  summoned'  to  Eome  to  stand  before 
Caesar  and  answer  charges  for  maladministration.     He 
was  found  guilty,  deposed,  condemned  and  banished  into 
the  wilds  of  Gaul;   and  afterward  banished  into  Spain 
(which  was  then  the  wild  West),  where  he  was  doomed 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  lonely  exile.    Hav- 
ing thus  passed  through  every  conceivable  trouble  and 
misfortune,  prohibited  from  ever  returning  to  his  home 
and  friends,  after  eight  years  of  trouble  and  sorrow,  he 
committed  suicide  A.  D.  41.    History  sa}-^  th^t  he  al- 
ways had  the  apparition  of  Jesus  standing  before  him. 
bleeding,  friendless,  hanging  on  the  cross  and  dying— 
a  horrific  spectre,   haunting  him   to    desperation   and 
death.    This  is  an  appalling  warning  to  everybody  wise- 
ly to  settle  that  great  question,  which  Pilate  propounded 
to  the  Jews,  "What  shall  I  do  with  Jesus?'' 

JUDAS    ISCAEIOT 

Ib  one  of  the  moet  paradoxical  characters  in  all  the  Bi- 


368  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

ble.  Some  believe  that  he  was  predestinated  to  perpe- 
trate the  dark,  bloody  treason  which  betrayed  his  Lord 
into  the  hands  of  His  enemies.  I  Sam.  23  :10.  "Then 
said  David,  0  Lord  God  of  Israel,  thy  servant  hath 
certainly  heard  that  Saul  seeketh  to  come  to  Keilah  and 
destroy  the  city^  for  my  sake.  "Will  the  men  of  Keilah 
deliver  me  np  into  his  hand?  Will  Saul  come  do^Ti  as 
thy  servant  has  heard?  0  Lord  God  of  Israel,  I  be- 
seech Thee,  tell  thy  servant.  And  the  I^ord  said,  He  will 
come  down.  Then  said  David,  AVill  tlie  men  of  Keilah 
deliver  me  and  my  men  into  the  hands  of  Saul?  And 
the  Lord  said.  They  wdll  deliver  thee  np.''^  We  see  from 
this  inspired  record,  that  things  which,  to  all  human  ap- 
prehension, are  predestinated,  do  not  always  take  place, 
as  clearly  illustrated  in  the  above,  where  the  Lord  said 
to  David,  "Saul  will  come  down  to  Keilah,  and  the  men 
of  Keilah  wdll  deliver  thee  and  thy  men  into  his  hands." 
While  this  is  a  positive  declaration,  you  see  that  it  never 
was  fulfilled.  When  Saul  heard  that  David  had  evacu- 
ated Keilah,  he  changed  his  course  and  pursued  him  on 
a  more  direct  route.  And  of  course  the  Keilahites  never 
did  surrender  David  and  his  men  to  Saul,  from  the  sim.- 
ple  fact  that  the}^  had  utterly  escaped  out  of  tlieir  hands. 
Hence  you  see  that  what  we  denominate  the  decrees  of 
God  with  reference  to  man,  are  liable  to  be  changed  by 
the  free  action  of  the  human  will.  This  David,  pursuant 
to  his  acquaintance  with  the  God  of  Israel,  well  knew, 
and  governed  himself  accordingly. 

Some  think  Judas  and  Pilate  were  predestinated  to 
play  their  respective  parts  in  the  bloody  tragedy  of  Cal- 
vary, and  consequently  concluded  that  Judas  never  was 
a  good  man.    This  is  certainly  a  mistake.    Jesus  never 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  369 

chose  a  sinner  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel.  John  6  :70. 
"Jesus  responded  to  them,  Have  I  not  chosen  you 
twelve?  And  one  of  you  is  devilish''  (E.  V.,  devil). 
The  Greek  diabolos  is  an  adjective,  literally  meaning 
devilish,  this  being  the  first  allegation  we  hear  against 
Judas,  and  it  was  spoken  ahout  the  close  of  our  Lord's 
second  ministerial  year.  As  he  was  apostolic  treasurer, 
I  trow  his  money  office  became  an  open  door  through 
•which  Satan  entered  and  tempted  him  with  filthy  lucre. 
We  see  in  the  first  of  this  verse  that  Jesus  says,  "I  have 
chosen  you  twelve";  therefore  he  chose  Judas  as  well 
as  the  eleven.  Judas  was  with  them  when  Jesus  said: 
"You  have  followed  me  in  the  regeneration.''  When 
the  Lord  sent  them  out  in  duets  to  preach  the  gospel, 
Judas  was  with  them.  Jesas  came  into  the  world  to 
STiffer  and  die  and  redeem  the  human  race.  He  did  not 
need  Pilate  and  Judas,  nor  the  devil,  to  help  Him  do 
His  expiatory  work.  He  could  have  done  it  as  easily  if 
those  men  had  never  been  born.  They  were  instruments 
utilized  by  the  permissive  providence  of  G-od ;  but  in  no 
way  necessary.  Hence  they  were  without  excuse  before 
God,  having  acted  freely,  pursuant  to  the  diabolical  in- 
trigues of  the  adversary.  Judas  knew  that  they  had 
been  after  Jesus  three  years  to  kill  Him,  and  even  sent 
battalions  of  armed  men  to  arrest  Him,  but  they  never 
could  get  their  hands  on  Him.  He  so  yielded  to  the 
covetous  allurements  of  Satan,  that  he  had  already  be- 
come a  miserable  apostate,  like  myriads  of  preachers  now- 
a-days,  who  backslide  through  the  love  of  money,  and 
still  hold  prominent  places  in  the  regular  clergy.  But 
I  am  satisfied  that  Judas  simply  yielded,  in  order  to 


370  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

get  the  money^  confident  in  his  own  mind  thait  they 
could  not  hurt  Jesus. 

The  trial  has  heen  in  progress  since  the  arrest  in 
Gethsem^an■e  the  preceding  midnight,  and  it  is  now  al- 
most 9  a.  m.  When  Judas  sees  that  the  matter  is  cul- 
minating in  the  aw^ul  issne  of  the  bloody  cross,  and  ev- 
ery possible  effort  of  the  Governor  to  save  Jesus'- life 
has  utterly  failed  (except  the  stern  iyse  dixit  of  author- 
ity which  Pilate  should  have  exercised,  thus  releasing 
and  protecting  Him  at  every  hazard,  which  would  proba- 
bly have  cost  him  his  life),  and  the  last  hope  of  saving 
His  life  has  fledi  away,  he  rushes  in  like  a  mad  man  and 
confesses  his  guilt  in  betraying  innocent  blood.  In  the 
meanwhile  he  turns  over  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to 
the  chief  priest,  who  positivly  refuses  to  take  them,  say- 
ing, "WTiat  is  that  to  us?  you  shall  see  to  it."  When 
they  utterly  refuse  to  rescind  the  contract  and  take  back 
the  money,  he  runs  to  the  Temple,  which  w^as  very  near 
the  judgment  hall,  and  there  he  throws  dowTi  the  money, 
then  runs  away  off  through  the  city  (the  Temple  and 
the  judgTiient  hall  both  being  in  the  east  end),  passes 
out  through  the  Joppa  Gate  in  the  west  wall  of  the  city, 
crosses  the  Valley  of  Hinnom,  turns  south,  runs  on  about 
a  mile  to  a  great  projecting  rock  hanging  out  over  the 
deep  gorge  of  Hinnom,  where  he  ties  a  rope  around  a 
tree  and  the  other  end  around  his  neck  and  swings  off. 
His  robust  body  proves  too  heavy  for  the  rope,  which 
breaks,  letting  him  fall  from  two  to  three  hundred  feet, 
dashing  him  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  beneath.  -Meanwhile, 
the!  priests  on  duty  in  the  Temple,  where  he  threw  down 
the  money,  take  charge  of  it.  declining  to  put  it  in  tha 
holy  treasury,  because  it  is  the  price  of  blood,  they  deter» 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  371 

mined  to  invest  it  in  the  very  ground  on  which  Judas 
fell  in  his  awful  suicide,  transforming  it  into  a  burial 
place  for  many  strangers  dying  at  Jerusalem  during 
the  great  and  frequent  festivals.  Consequently  they 
purchase  the  land  kno^Ti  as  the  Potter's  Field,  and  it 
currently  receives  the  cognomen,  "Field  of  Blood,''  unto 
this  day.  Matthew  wrote  his  gospel  fifteen  years  after 
the  crucifixion,  when  that  appellation  was  still  prevalent 
among  the  Jews. 

Matt.  27  :3-10  and  Acts  1 :10-19.  When  the  Eomans 
desVoyed  the  city,  A.  D.  66-73,  they  left  no  Jews  in  all 
that  country  to  perpetuate  names  and  places.  The 
inhabitants  were  all  either  killed  or  led  into  captivity, 
leaving  Jerusalem  utterly  desolate.  Even  the  name  sank 
into  oblivion.  So  it  remained  fifty  years  uninhabited, 
except  as  the  wandering  Arab  there  chanced  to  pitch  his 
tent.  At  the  expiration  of  fifty  years,  the  Emperor 
Adrian  came  thither,  founded  a  Eoman  colony,  and  call- 
ed it  Elia  Capitolina,  by  which  name  it  was  known  two 
hundred  years,  even  the  name  "Jerusalem"  having  been 
lost.  Then,  A.  D.  321,  Constantine,  the  Emperor,  was 
converted  to  Christianity,  and  came  at  once  to  the  spot, 
restored  the  name  "Jerusalem"  to  the  city,  took  down 
tlie  heathen  temple,  which  Adrian  had  built  and  dedi- 
cated to  Jupiter  on  the  spot  where  Solomon's  Temple 
had  stood.  There  he  built  a  Christian  Church  and  pro- 
ceeded to  hunt  up  the  places  of  sacred  celebrity.  So, 
from  that  day  to  this,  they  have  been  hunting  up  and 
identifying  all  the  places  sacred  to  Bible  memories. 
When  I  was  there  in  1895,  the  "Potter's  Field"  was  un- 
known, having,  with  all  other  historic  places,  sunk  into 
loblivion  during  the  ages  of  desolation.     When  I  was 


372  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

there  in  1899,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  the  Potter's 
Field,  it  having  been  disoovered  and  identified  during 
my  absence  of  four  years.  Tho  Greek  Christians  led  the 
way  in  the  Holy  Land,  having  possession  of  more  sacred 
places  than  any  other  denomination.  They  are  wonder- 
ful for  building  magnificent  memorial  churches,  con- 
vents and  monasteries  on  all  the  holy  grounds  they 
get  into  their  possession.  So  I  found  a  beautiful  Greek 
monastery  on  the  Potter's  Field,  occupied  by  Monks, 
who  received  me  with  the  utmost  Christian  cordiality 
and'  treated  me  like  a  brother  in  Christ. 

N.  B. — ^The  Jews  had  no  grave-yards  as  we  do.  They 
deposited  their  dead  in  caves  or  stone  sepulchres.  This 
piece  of  ground  happened  to  belong  to  a  man  who  was 
a  potter  by  trade.  When  Judas  suicided  on  it,  bursting 
to  pieces  and  disemboweling  his  body,  the  place  was  re- 
garded as  polluted  thereby.  Hence  the  proprietor  gladly 
sold  it  out  for  a  sepulchre,  for  which  it  was  eminently 
adapted  by  its  capacious  and  superabounding  caves  run- 
ning under  the  great  mountain.  During  the  long  roll 
of  the  ages,  when  Jerusalem  was  inhabited  only  by  the 
wild  children  of  Ishmael  and  Esau,  the  debris  falling 
down  from  the  overhanging  crags  so  accumulated  as  to 
utterly  hide  these  sepulchres.  So  they  remained  un- 
known till  about  1896,  when  they  were  discovered.  The 
Greek  Christians  got  possession  of  the  grounds  and  erect- 
ed the  beautiful  buildings  which  magnetize  the  traveler 
at  this  day.  I  saw  great  heaps  of  human  bones  in  those 
cavernous  rooms,  now  overbuilt  by  the  monastery,  shov>^- 
ing  plainly  that  they  did  use  the  place  for  the  interment 
of  strangers.    Of  course  they  were  used  only  during  the 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  373 

occupancy  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Jews,  which  was  only 
fort}'  years,  till  their  destruction  and  dispersion. 

Xow,  Judlas.  the  traitor,  has  run  away  to  commit 
suicide.  A  great  mistake  here  appears  in  the  E.  V.  in 
the  statement :  When  man  repents,  Ood  always  forgives 
and  saves.  The  truth  is,  repentance  is  a  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  initiator}-  to  conversion  and  fundamental  in 
salvation.  Eepent  is  metanoia,  which  means  a  change  of 
mind;  i.  e.,  the  elimination  of  the  carnal  mind,  and  the 
supervention  of  the  mind  of  Christ,  which  really  com- 
prehends the  entire  human  side  of  the  gracious  economy. 
Eepentance  is  a  complete  giving  up — i.  e.,  the  sinner 
gives  up  all  his  bad  things  to  the  devil  and  leaves  him 
forever,  and  gets  converted.  The  Christian  gives  up  all 
his  good  things  to  God  to  abide  with  Him  forever, 
and  gets  sanctified.  The  word  here  is  not  metanoia,  but 
metameJomai,  which  means  inundated  with  grief.  The 
solution  of  the  matter  is,  Judas  was  seized  with  remorse, 
which  rendered  him  furious,  and  precipitated  him  into 
suicide.  This  explains  the  many  suicides  constantly  tak- 
ing place  throughout  the  country.  This  remorse  is  really 
a  prelude  of  hell's  torment.  Hence  the  trouble  with 
Judas  was.  a  prelibation  of  hell  actually  took  possession 
of  him,  rendering  himself  so  miserable  that  he  plunged 
into  suicide  for  relief,  actually  dying  before  Jesus  died. 
The  doom  of  Judas  is  settled  (Acts  1:25).  "From 
which  (ministry)  Judas  departed  to  go  into  his  own 
place."  He  had  crossed  the  dead-line,  utterly  grieved 
away  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  he  could  not  repent :  therefore 
there  was  no  place  for  him  but  hell.  If  he  had  repented, 
Jesus  would  have  forgiven  him.  as  He  prayed  to  the 
Father  to  forgive  His  murderers  while  He  was  d^-ing. 


374  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

THE  CRUCIFIXION. 

Mark  15.  The  last  hope  has  fled,  the  death  warrant 
is  issued,  Jesus  is  delivered  up  to  a  Roman  centurion 
with  his  hundred  soldiers  to  proceed  at  once  and  crucify 
Him.  The  judgment  hall  is  in  the  east  end  of  the  city 
in  a  subsidence  between  Mt.  Moriah  and  Mt.  Bezetha, 
which  are  within  the  city  wall.  Mt.  Calvary,  which  is 
really  a  prominence  of  Mt.  Moriah,  in  the  shape  of  a 
human  skull,  hence  it  is  called  "Calvary,'^  which  means 
a  skull,  is  just  outside  the  north  wall,  and  in  the 
angle  formed  by  the  Damascus  road  and  the  Jericho 
road,  and  not  mor^  than  six  hundred  yards  from  the 
judgment  hall.  So  now  they  start  away  to  Calvary.  Pur- 
suant to  the  cruel  Roman  custom,  Jesus  carries  His  own 
cross.  Having  spent  the  preceding  night  and  the  morn- 
ing till  9  o'clock  constantly  on  His  feet,  and  having  lost 
so  much  blood  in  the  scourging,  His  physical  powers  give 
way,  consequently  the  soldiers  press  into  service  a  strong 
colored  man,  Simon,  from  Cyrene  in  Northern  Africa, 
constraining  him  to  carry  the  cross..  His  sons,  Alexan- 
der and  Eufus,  are  mentioned  in  N.  T.,  the  latter  in 
Romans  16,  and  the  former  in  Acts  19,  I  trow,  as  there 
are  several  men  of  that  name. 

Luke  23  :27.  ^^And  a  great  multitude  of  the  people 
followed  Him,  and  of  woonen,  who  were  both  weeping 
and  bewailing  Him.  And  Jesus,  turning  to  them,  said, 
0  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me,  but 
for  yourselves  and  your  children.  Because  be- 
hold the  days  are  coming  in  which  they  will 
say.  Blessed  are  the  barren,  and  the  wombs  that  did  not 
bring  forth,  and  the  breasts  that  did  not  nurse.    Then 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  375 

they  will  begin  to  say  to  the  mountains,  Fall  on  us; 
and  to  the  hills,  Hide  us.  Because  if  they  do  these 
things  in  the  green  trees,  what  may  not  be  done  in  the 
dry?  And  two  malefactors  were  also  led  along  with 
Him  to  be  put  to  death.  The  divinity  of  Jesus  saw  the 
awful  horrors  coming  on  the  city  and  the  people,  when 
rivers  of  blood  would  flow  through  the  streets,  literally 
blockaded  with  heaps  of  the  d3ad;  scenes  of  horror 
which  no  pen  could  paint,  nor  tongue  express.  These 
actually  set  in  A.  D.  ^Q>,  and  occupied  seven  years,  wind- 
ing up  with  national  ruin  and  destruction  too  appalling 
for  utterance.  Jerusalem  is  built  on  mountains  and  sur- 
rounded b}'  mountains.  Olivet,  just  over  the  Valley  of 
Jehoshaphat  eastward,  being  the  highest  mountain  In 
South  Canaan.  While  these  horrors  were  actually  turn- 
ing hell  loose  on  them,  how  they  cried  for  great  Mt. 
Olivet  to  fall  on  them  and  hide  them.  At  that  time  the 
Jewish  nation  was  exceedingly  prosperous,  numbering 
millions,  flourishing  in  every  ramification  of  Hebrew  in- 
dustry and  enterprise.  Even  the  Church,  in  her  tempo- 
ral and  material  phases,  was  swimming  in  the  highest 
prosperity:  So  that  was  the  green  tree.  When  coiled 
round  by  the  Eoman  armies  like  a  huge  boa  constrictor, 
cutting  off  all  egress  and  ingress  seven  long  years,  till 
all  human  sustenance  in  every  conceivable  way  was  ex- 
hausted and  the  people  were  dying  by  thousands  of  star- 
vation on  all  sides,  so  many  dead  bodies  were  putrefy- 
ing that  they  created  a  pestilence  which  slew  myriads. 
Meanwhile,  all  the  unspeakable  horrors  of  a  cruel  war 
were  stalking  like  avenging  spectres,  renderin.^  the  peo- 
ple so  intolerably  miserable  that  they  were  praying  to 


i76  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

die.  Such  was  the  indescribable  horrors  indicated  by  the 
dry  tree,  with  life  and  hope  forever  gone. 

In  order  to  heap  on  Jesus  the  greatest  possible  popu- 
lar odium,  thy  lead  out  these  two  malefactors  and  cru- 
cify one  on  either  side. 

V.  33.  "And  wheal  they  went  out  to  a  place  called 
Calvary''  (Matt.  34),  "they  gave  Him  vinegar  mingled 
with  gall  to  drink;  and  tasting  it  He  did  not  wish  to 
drink  it.  This  was  a  soporific  potion  which  they  were  ac- 
customed to  administer  to  lull  the  nerves  into  insensi- 
bility, and  thus  prevent  the  awful  acuteness  of  the  pain 
which  might  superinduce  prematurely  a  nervous  parox- 
ysm, thus  abbreviating  the  period  of  that  awful  torture 
which  attended  death  by  crucifixion,  while  the  victims 
hung  on  the  cross  several  days,  and  finally  died  from 
loss  of  blood.  The  example  of  Jesus  here  would  profit 
us  all  in  case  of  special  ordeals  in  which  extraordinary 
pain  is  anticipated ;  e.  g.,  the  extraction  of  teeth,  the  am- 
putation of  limbs,  and  other  surgical  operations,  in 
which  opiates  and  other  nervines  are  frequently  adminis- 
tered. You  see  the  example  of  our  Leader  is  in  the  neg- 
ative. A  very  simple  antidote  in  case  of  this  kind  will 
be  found  in  the  mental  repetition  of  Scripture.  Most  of 
my  teeth  have  been  extracted.  I  never  took  any  seda- 
tive, but  passed  through  the  operation  with  my  nerves 
in  their  normal  condition.  The  greatest  trouble  I  had 
was  the  shock  on  my  nerves,  which  I  found  to  be  com- 
paratively nothing,  when  I  adopted  the  above  preventive. 
Kow,  in  case  of  that  kind,  when  I  take  the  dental  chair, 
I  proceed  at  once  to  repeat  Scripture,  keeping  my  mind 
concentrated  on  it  and  giving  no  attention  to  the  dentist. 
Before  I  am  aware,  he  does  his  work,  and  I  have  scarce- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  377 

ly  felt  it.  It  applies  equally  in  any  surgical  operation. 
Concentrate  your  mind  on  dod;  employ  all  your 
mental  faculties  in  the  repetition  of  His  word  and  pray- 
er, giving  no  attention  to  the  operation,  and  you  will 
be  surprised  at  the  tranquillity  you  will  enjoy. 

John  19  :18.  '"Where  they  crucified  Him,  they  also 
crucified  two  others  with  Him  on  this  side  and  that, 
and  Jesus  in  the  midst,^'  as  Isaiah  prophesied  in  43 :  12. 
Meanwhile,  as  they  proceed  to  nailing  Him  to  the  cross, 
He  lifts  up  Hie  voice  and  prays,  "Father,  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  are  doing."  His 
murderers  were  ignorant  Eoman  heathens,  incited  by  the 
chief  priests,  who  really  sustained  the  great  responsibil- 
ity. The  popular  idea  that  the  Jews  crucified  Him  is 
a  mistake :  The  Eoman  Gentiles  did  it.  The  rank  and 
file  of  the  Jews  were  opposed  to  it,  and  of  course  none  of 
the  Gentiles  wanted  Him  put  to  death.  His  real  and 
responsible  murderers  were  a  very  small  minority  of 
the  Jewish  people,  consisting  of  the  leading  officials,  who 
looked  upon  Him  as  a  rival,  whose  influence  tended  to 
dethrone  and  supplant  them.  The  higher  clergy  maneu- 
vered to  get  their  hands  oH'  His  person,  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  a  hired  rabble,  and  constrained  their 
Eoman  rulers  to  have  the  bloody  -deed  perpetrated. 
Hence,  as  Jesus  told  Pilate,  the  high  priest  had  the 
greater  sin.  The  crucifixion  of  the  innocent  Savior, 
from  a  human  standpoint,  is  an  illustration  of  the  va.^'t 
and  awful  amount  of  evil  a  few  bad  men  in  power  may 
.bring  upon  the  nation. 

John  19  :23.  "'Then  the  soldiers,  when  they  crucified 
Jesus,  took  His  garments  and  divided  them  into  four 
parts,  to  'each  soldier  a  part,  and  His  vesture."     The 


378  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

Jews  wore  two  garments,  the  chitoon  next  to  the  body, 
and  the  himateon,  something  like  a  cloak  or  a  blanket, 
thrown  over  the  body,  and  'especially  important  at  night 
■while  sleeping;  but  generally  laid  aside  when  at  work, 
and  -carried  on  the  shouldler  while  'walking.  It  is  said 
that  Mary  Magdalene ;  Mar^^,  the  mother  -of  James  the 
Less ;  Salome,  the  mother  of  James  the  Elder  and  John ; 
Joanna,  the  wife  of  Chnzas,  the  steward  of  King  Herod, 
followed  Him  and  ministered  unto  Him.  It  is  believed 
that  these  godly  women  not  only  supplied  Him  with 
food,  but  madie  His  clothing,  as  there  were  no  factories 
in  that  day.  I  find  here,  there  were  four  pieces  consti- 
tuting His  external  apparel,  as  there  was  one  for  each 
of  the  four  soldiers  who  crucified  Him.  The  vesture 
(E.  V.  Gr.,  chitoon)  was  His  inner  garment,  whieh  He 
constantly  wore.  Doubtless  those  godly  women  had 
woven  it  with  great  labor  and  care.  You  see  here  that 
those  rough  Eoman  soldiers  had  too  much  respect  for  it 
to  tear  it  to  pieces,  consequently  they  agreed  to  gamble 
over  it,  and  settle  the  possession  of  it  by  the  dice-box. 
This  seamless  robe  of  Christ  beautifully  symbolizes  the 
unity  of  His  body,  the  Church.  Here  you  see  that  even 
the  world  recoils'  with  horror  from  the  division  of  God's 
Church,  and  says,  "Let  it  be  one  forever";  meanwhile 
they  gamble  over  it,  desiring  to  appropriate  it  to  their 
worldly  enterprises,  so  far  as  they  can.  But  it  is  far 
different  with  the  corrupt  clergy,  who  are  doing  their 
utmost  to  divide  the  Churdh  of  God,  each  one  taking 
all  he  can  get. 

THE   SUPERSCRIPTION. 

John  19 :19.    "And  Pilate  wrote  his  title  and  placed 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  379 

it  -above  the  cross.  And  it  was  written,  ''Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, the  King  of  the  Jews."  Tlieii  many  of  tlie  Jews 
read  this  title,  because  the  place  Where  Jesug  was  cruci- 
fied was  near  the  city:  and  it  was  written  in  Hebrew, 
Greek  and  Latin.  Then  the  chief  priest  of  the  Jews 
said  to  Pilate,  Write  not,  He  is  the  King  of  the  Jews; 
but  that  He  said,  'I  'am  the  King  of  the  Jews.'  Pilate 
responded,  ^Wliat  I  have  written,  I  have  written.' "  It 
was  customar}^  to  superscribe  the  crime  for  which  each 
malefactor  was  crucified  and  put  it  up  over  his  head  as 
ihe  hung  on  the  cross.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  Jesus 
was  mobbed  at  the  instigation  of  the  high  priests,  who 
manipu'laited  the  unprincipled  and  irresponsible  rabble. 
When  Paul  was  on  trial  in  Jerusalem,  Festus,  the  Eo- 
mian  governor,  certified  that  it  was  contrary  to  Romians 
to  condemn  an}^ne  until  he  had  his  accusers  face  to  face 
and  received  a  fair  trial  according  to  law  and  testimony. 
Nicodemus,  who  was  a  great  Jewish  rabbi,  certified  the 
same  in  reference  to  all  Hebrew  litigation.  The  truth  of 
the  matter  is,  Jesus  received  the  benefit  of  neither  Jewish 
nor  Roman  law;  but  He  was  cruelly  mobbed  all  the 
way  through,  as  millions  of  His  followers  have  been  in 
subsequent  ages,  when  they  shouted  amid  martyr  fires. 

Here  you  see  that  Pilate  superscribed  over  the  head 
of  Jesus,  in  the  place  where  it  was  customan^  to  put  the 
accusation,  as  the  Greek  says,  the  title  which  was,  "This 
is  the  king  of  the  Jews,"  and  when  the  high  priests  asked 
him  to  change  it  so  as  to  read  "He  said  He  was  the  king 
of  the  Jews,"  he  positively  refused  to  do  it.  The  solu- 
tion of  the  matter  was,  he  could,  not  do  it,  for  God  was 
in  it. 

Rom.  2 :28.    "Say  if  He  is  not  a  Jew,  who  is  one 


380  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

outwardly;  neither  is  circumeision  that  which  is  out- 
ward in  the  flesh ;  but  he  is  a  Jew  who  is  one  inwardly ; 
and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and 
not  in  the  letter;  who  is  praised  as  not  a  man,  but  a 
God/'  So  you  see  that  the  true  Jew  is  none  other  than 
the  saint  of  God,  of  whom  Jesus  is  the  everlasting  King. 
He  is  King,  both  in  grace  and  in  glory,  bringing  in  the 
kingdom  of  grace  in  His  first  advent,  and  that  of  His 
glory  when  He  shall  descend  on  the  throne  of  >the  millen- 
nial theocracy.  So  His  title,  "The  King  of  the  Jews,'^ 
is  absolutely  unchangeable  by  all  the  powers  of  earth  and 
hell. 

This  superscription  was  in  Latin,  the  language  of 
law;  Greek,  the  language  of  learning,  and  Hebrew,  the 
language  of  religion. 

BLASPHEMOUS  MOCKERY. 

Matt.  27 :39.  "And  passing  by  they  continued  to 
blaspheme  Him,  and  -vvagging  their  heads  said:  *Thou 
that  dost  destroy  the  temple  and  build  it  again  in  three 
days,  save  they  self.'  Likewise  the  chief  priest  mocking, 
with  the  scribes  and  elders,  continued  to  say.  He  saved 
others;  He  is  not  'able  to  save  Himself.  If  He  is  the 
King  of  Israel,  let  Him  now  come  down  from  the  cros3, 
and  we  will  believe  'On  Him,  He  trusted  in  God,  let 
Him  now  deliver  Him,  if  He  wishes  Him;  for  He  said 
that  I  am  the  Son  of  God."  Thus  to  abuse,  mock  an(5 
vilify  a  man  in  the  agonies  of  death  is  diabolical  in 
the  extreme,  plainly  illustrating  the  demoniacal  pos- 
session of  the  chief  priests,  scribes  and  elders,  who  in- 
dulged in  it.    They  had  actually  committed  the  unpar- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer,  381 

^onable  sin,  grieved  away  the  Holy  Ghost,  till  the  devil 
had  them  completely  under  hi&  control.  Yet  they  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  church  and  were  the  leaders  of  the 
people  in  the  momentous  interest  appertaining  to  their 
immortal  souls.  Do  you  think  we  have  no  parallel  cases 
at  the  prdReoit  day  ?  We  dare  not  so  conclude,  since  hu- 
manity, God,  sin,  Satan  and  the  world!  are  the  same 
now  as  then- 
Luke  5  :39.  ''^And  one  of  the  malefactors,  who  had 
been  hung  up,  blasphemed  Him,  saying,  ^If  thou*  art  the 
Christ,  save  thyself  and  us;  and  the  other  responding, 
rebuked  him,  sapng,  "Dost  not  thou  fear  God,  because 
thou  art  in  the  same  condemnation?  And  we  indeed, 
justly,  for  we  are  receiving  those  things  ^-hich  we  have 
dione:  but  He  has  done  nothing  amiss.  And  he  said 
to  Jesus,  Lord,  when  thou  comest  in  Thy  kingdom,  re- 
member me.  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Truly,  I  say 
unto  thee,  this  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise." 
Matthew  and  Mark  tell  us  that  both  of  the  malefactors 
were  reproaching  Him,  while  the  high  priest,  scribes 
and  elders  were  all  throwing  their  vile  contumely  in 
His  face.  There  is  no  contradiction  here  between  them, 
and  Luke,  who  describes  the  one  as  reproaching  Him, 
and  the  other  praying  to  Him.  N.  B.  He  was  nailed 
to  the  cross  at  9  a.  m.,  and  it  is  now  almost  12.  Hence 
you  see  there  was  ample  time  for  the  cliange  involved 
in  the  harmony  with  Luke.  Early  in  the  scene,  both 
malefactors  joined  with  the  clergy,  and  church  officials, 
and  rabble  in  their  insults  and  mockery.  A  change 
eventually  comes  over  one  of  them,  convincing  him  that 
he  is  in  the  presence  of  a  Supernatural  Being.  With 
the  reaction,  conviction  settles  down  on  him,  so  that 


382  Life  of  Jesus  ond  Bis  Apostles, 

he  goes  to  pray,  and)  at  the  same  time  rebukes  his  com- 
rade, confesses  their  mutual  guilt,  and  then  the  Lordship 
of  Jesus  by  invoking  Him  to  remember  him  when  He 
comes  in  His  kingdom.  As  to  the  character  of  this 
conception,  it  was  evidently  very  vague.  The  solution  is 
the  simple  fact  that  he  yielded  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  re- 
pented and  believed  on  Jesus  then  and  there,  laying  hold 
of  the  salvation  which  was  revealed  to  him  hy  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  Man  dying  by  his  side,  though  condemned 
to  die  for  crime  as  they  were  then  dying.  This  ca^c  is 
grandly  illustrative  of  the  wonderful  gospel  simplicity, 
which  reaches  penitent,  believing  sinners  anywhere  and 
everywhere;  forever  sweeps  from  the  field  all  the  pomp 
and  pageantry  of  church  rites,  clerical  manipulation, 
priestly  intercession,  water  baptism ;  grandly  illustrat- 
ing the  great  salient  trutlh  that  Jesus'  needs  no  help  to 
save  a  soul;  time,  place  and  circiunstances  cutting  no 
figure  in  the  matter.  Here  is  a  man  dying  for  his 
crimes — so  vile  that  when  nailed  to  the  cross  he  actually 
engages  in  the  mockery  .and  vilification  of  his  own  cm- 
cifiers-.  ^Yhen.  all  human  hope  has  fled,  he  says  Yes  to 
the  Holy  Spirit,  prays  to  the  dying  Jesus,  and  gets  glo^ 
riously  saved.  There  is  no  defalcation  about  it,  the  tes- 
timony of  Jesus  setting  it  heyond  the  possibility  of  cavil. 
God  has  but  one  plan  of  salvation.  WTiat  is  true  in  one 
case  is  true  in  all.  Oh,  the  unutterable  beauty,  simplic- 
ity and  glory  of  the  redemptive  scheme,  leaving  not  the 
shadow  of  an  excuse  for  any  poor  sinner  to  make  his  bed 
in  hell ! 

Here  we  see  Jesus  commends  His  mother  to  the 
Apostle  John,  who  then  and  there  took  charge  of  her 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  383 

as  a  dutiful  son  in  the  gospel  and  supported  her  to  the 
end  of  life. 


DAKKNESS    PREVAILS. 


It  is  now  high  noon,  when  the  sun  normally  shines 
in  the  majesty  of  his  glory,  looking  down  in  his  effulgent 
beauty  from  the  gorgeous  cerulean  splendor  of  a  Pales- 
tinian sky,  which  is  celebrated  for  its  serenity  and  cloud- 
less grandeur,  from  the  middle  of  March  to  the  middle 
of  November,  the  rains  all  falling  in  the  winter,  and  al- 
most unknown  in  the  summer.  This  was  April  13th,  ac- 
cording to  chronology.  The  One  hanging  on  that  cross 
between  two  thieves  threw  the  sun  from  a  world  of  chaos 
wh^n  time  began  her  march.  He  illuminated  him  with 
the  unutterable  effulgence,  symbolic  of  His  own  glory, 
and  honored  Him  with  a  grand  retinue  of  worlds,  which 
wheel  i;i  their  beauty  amid  the  ineffable  sublimity  of  his 
mighty  luminosity.  Xow  he  is  put  to  a  test,  unknown  in 
the  history  of  the  universe,  i.  e.,  to  behold  his  Maker 
die.  This  he  refuses  to  do,  and  veils  his  face  in  dark- 
ness. All  efforts  of  infidel  philosophers  to  locate  a  total 
eclipse  at  this  time  are  utterly  futile,  as  this  was  the 
full  m'Oon,  when  she  cannot  possibly  ^i  between  the 
earth  and  the  sun  to  eclipse  him,  as  she  is  at  her  apogee, 
whereas  the  eclipse  can  take  place  only  at  her  perigee. 
This  miraculous  darkness  struck  the  multitude  like  an 
awful  pall  from  the  eternal  world,  causing  them  to  trem- 
ble and  quake. 


384  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

CHRIST  EXPIRES  ON  THE  CROSS. 

The  darkness  lias  enveloped  the  world  from.  12  till 
3  o'clock. 

Mark  15  :34.  ^^And  at  the  ninth  hour,  Jesus  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  ^'Eloi,  lama  sabaclitlianiT'  whic'h  is 
interpreted,  "My  God),  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  T'  This  was  the  humanity  forsaken  by  the  divinity, 
and  thus  cry^ing  out  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  bear 
all  the  sins  of  all  the  human  race,  and  thus  make  the 
vicarious  atonement.  II.  Cor.  5  :21.  "He  made  him 
sin  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  he  the  righteoussness 
of  God  in  Him."  So  this  was  the  time  when  God  laid 
on  Him  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  Then  He  turned 
His  face  away,  because  He  cannot  look  upon  sin,  even 
on  His  own  Son.  Jesus,  spotless  and  pure,  took  upon 
His  human;  soul  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  to  atone 
for  them,  thus  perfectly  satisf3dng  the  violated  law,  and 
sweeping  aw^ay  the  necessity,  or  even  an  apology,  for 
the  damnation  of  a  solitary  soul,  thus  leaving  all  the 
world  without  excuse.  Luke  23  :46.  "And  crying  with 
a  loud  voice,  Jesus  sjaid.  Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  will 
commit  my  Spirit"  Having  said  these  things,  He  ex- 
pired«.  Matthew  an'd  John  say.  Gave  up  His  Spirit 
John  V.  30.  ^Then,  when  Jesus  received  the  vinegar. 
He  said.  It  is  finished ;  and  lowering  His  head  He  gave 
up  His  Spirit" 

How  vain,  foolish,  and  even  blasphemous  are  all  the 
pretentions  of  sectarian  bigotry,  arrogant  assumptions 
of  prie^craft,  pompous  clerical  manipulations,  baptis- 
mal regenera.tions,  and  papistical  absolutions,  in  the  face 
of  the  infallible  dying  testimony  of  Jesus — "It  is  ^^ 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  385 

ishedi^^ !  If  Je?ii5  told  .the  tnith  with.  His  dying  breath, 
tiiere  is  absolutely  nothing  left  for  the  vilest  sinner  to 
do,  l)ut  receive  His  finished  work,  shout  factory  over 
death  and  hell,  and  sweep  into  glory.  The  gospel  preach^ 
er  is  as  impotent  fco  save  as  the  sinner  himself.  He  can 
do  nothing  but,  like  John  the  Baptist,  cry,  ^'Behold,  the 
Lamb  of  G-od,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  !'^ 
Millions  of  people  are  now  in  hell,  because  they  depend- 
ed on  human  works,  subjective  or  objective,  instead  of 
relying  on  the  work  of  Christ  alone.  '^By  grace  3^ou 
are  saved  through,  faith''  (Eph.  11:8).  The  way  is  so 
plain  that  "wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  cannot  err 
therein.'^  (Isa.  35:8.)  The  world  is  flooded  with  hu- 
man inventions  and  vocal  with  shibboleths;  fanatical 
leaders  crpng,  Lo,  here,  and  Lo,  there !  but  how  few  are 
preaching  Jesus,  "the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life'' ! 

Here  we  see  a  most  unequivocal  affirmation  by  four 
inspired  historians,  that  Jesus  gave  up  His  Spirit.  The 
Seventh-day  Adventists  deny  that  He  had  a  human  spir- 
it distinct  from  His  body.  This  is  a  necessar^^  dogma 
in  the  maintenanc-e  of  their  materialistic  heresy,  which 
disipiritualizes  man ;  i.  e.,  denies  that  he  has  a  soul,  dis- 
tinct from  his  body,  and  really  brutalizes  him.  They 
are  found  in  all  lands,  propagating  dieir  blinding  and 
stupefying  sectarian  creed.  You  know  it  is  positively 
false,  because  it  flatly  contradicts  the  Word  of  God.  It 
is  materialistic  infidelity,  under  the  garb  of  Christianity. 
Beware  of  that  dogm<atisni  that  takes  from  you  your  im- 
mortal ^oul  and  does  not  spare  Jesus,  but  takes  His  soul. 
If  you  do  not. know  them,  you  soon  will,  for  "of  these 
are  they  who  creep  into  houses  and  lead  captive  silly 
women,  laden  wi'tih  sIrs,  being  led  away  by  divers  lusts. 


386  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

always  learning  and  never  being  able  to  come  to  a  per- 
fect knowledige  of  the  truth.    In  this  manner  did  Jannes 

and  Jambres  resist  Mouses/' (2  Tim.  3:6.)     They 

are  the  worst  proselyters  in  the  world,  "compassing  sea 
and  land  to  miake  one  proselyte,  and  when  he  may  be 
made  ,they  make  him  two-fold  more  the  son  of  hell" 
(Matt.  23  :18).  Jesus,  yon  see,  scathingly  condemns  all 
proselytism.  There  are  many  proselyters  besides  the 
sect  abo've  mentioned.  The  truth  of  it  is,  all  sectarian- 
ism is  more  or  less  proselytic.  The  trouble  with  the  sec- 
tarian is,  he  preaches  his  creed  instead  of  Jesus. 

THE  VEIL  OF  THE  TEMPLE  IS  RENT  AND  GRAVES  OPENED. 

Matt.  27:51.  ''Behold,  the  veil  of  the  Temple  was 
rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  and  the  earth 
did  quake,  and  the  rocks  were  rent,  and  the  tombs  were 
opened,  and  many  bodies  of  the  sleeping  saints  did  rise; 
and  having  come  out  from  the  tomte  after  His  resurrec- 
tion, came  into  the  Holy  City  and  were  madie  manifest 
unto  many.  The  old  dispensation  was  on  the  plan  of 
justification,  represented  by  the  outward  court  of  the 
Temple,  which  W'Sls  supplied  with  the  shew-bread  for  the 
priests  to  eat,  and  luminated  by  the  seven  golden  candle^ 
sticks,  which  needed  human  attention  like  all  artificial 
lights.  "\A%ile  tlie  interior  court,  called  the  holy  of 
holies,  was  entered  only  by  the  high  priest,  being  -sep- 
arated from  the  outer  court  by  the  veil.  It  was  without 
doors  and  windows,  and  lined  internally  with  badger 
skins,  black  as  coal,  so  the  light  of  day  was  utterly  ex- 
cluded, no  artificial  lights  being  permitted;  but  the  sihe- 
kina,  which  was  the  symbol  of  the  divine  glory,  illumi- 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  387 

nated  it  day  and  nigbt;  while  te  cherubim,  symbolic 
of  the  divine  presence,  with  outstretched  wdngs,  orer- 
dhadbwed  the  mercy-seat.  There  was  also  the  ark  of  the 
covenant,  containing  the  Word  of  God,  and  overlaid 
with  gold,  indicating  its  infinite  value.  There  was  the 
golden  pot,  filled  with,  manna,  -always  fresh  and  sweet, 
typifying  the  soul-pabulum  on  which  the  saints  are  fed. 
There  was  also  Aaron's  rod,  always  blooming  and  bear- 
ing fruit  in  different  stages,  green,  growing  and)  ripe.  It 
is  also  indicative  of  soul-food.  I.  Peter  ch.  11,  shows  up 
the  fact  tlhat  in  the  new  dispensation  the  priesthood  is 
transferred  to  the  membership,  ju'Stification  making  U5 
all  priests,  and  sanctification  high  priests. 

When  Jesus  came  and  perfected  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion, all  the  types  land  shadows  fled  away.  In  the  old 
dispensation,  only  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  were  en- 
abled proleptically  to  m^ove  forward  into  the  intelligent 
experience  of  entire  sanctification.  They  were  really  typ- 
ical of  the  normal  saints  of  the  gospel  age.  When  Jesus 
said,  "It  is  finished,^'  and  expired  on  the  cross,  the  veil 
was  rent  from  top  to  bottom.  If  m^an  had  to'm  it,  he 
would  have  begun  at  the  bottom;  but  as  Grod  tore  it 
down  with  His  O'wn  hand,  He  began  at  the  top.  This 
rending  of  the  veil  was  to  open  the  sanctum  sanctorum 
to  all  the  inmates  of  tlie  temple,  L  e.,  to  all  the  children 
of  God,  however  humble,  regardless  of  race,  sect  or  color; 
thus  making  sanctification  the  normal  standard  of  the 
gospel  church,  and  promoting  all  the  saints  to  the  high 
priesthoodi.  At  the  same  time,  there  was  an  earthquake 
and  tombs  opened,  and  many  bodies  of  the  sleeping 
saints  did  arise.  All  Mt.  Calvary  is  now  a  cemetery,  so 
the  dead  were  very  convenient.     The  record  says  the 


388  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

tomibs  were  broken  up  by  the  earthquake,  but  the  saints 
did  not  rise  till  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  That 
was  pertinent  to  tlie  Scripture — "that  He  was  to  be  the 
first  fruit  of  them  that  slept"  We  know  not  the  names 
of  the  saints  who  arose  at  that  time.  I  once  saw  a  book, 
titled  "Gesta  Pikti"  (Acts  of  Pilate),  which  gave  the 
names  of  a  number  having-  risen  at  that  time,  and  among 
them  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jaeob.  What  became  of  those 
saiats?  I  trow  they  remained  on  earth  till  the  ascen- 
sion of  Christ,  and  then  went  with  Him  to  Heaven. 
having  already  received  their  glorified  bodies. 

TESTIMONY   OF   THE   CENTUEION. 

Luke  23  :47.  "And  the  centurion,  seeing  that  which 
took  place,  glorified'  God,  saying.  Surely  this  was  a 
righteous  Man.  And  all  the  multitudes  being  present  at 
this  scene,  seeing  the  things  which  took  place,  were  go- 
ing away  beating  their  breasts." 

Mark  15  :40.  "And  there  were  women  looking  on 
from  afar  off,  among  whom  was  ]\Iary  [Magdiaiene,  and 
Mary  the  mother  of  James  the  Less,  and  Joses  and  Sa- 
lome (who  also  were  accustomed-  to  follow  Him  and 
administer  to  Him  'v\iien  He  was  in  Galilee),  and  many 
others  having  come  up  with  Him  when  He  was  in  Jeru- 
salem." When  He  wa^  arrested  in  Gethsemane,  He  said, 
"This  is  your  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness."  The 
devil  and  hell  in  the  powers  of  earth,  both  ecclesiastical 
and  civil,  had  actually  come  to  tlie  front  and  taken  pos- 
session of  the  situation,  heaven,  angels  and  saints  reced- 
ing away  and  leaving  Him  in  the  hands  of  S^tan  and 
his  myrmidons.    As  they  had.  the  field  and  stood  at  the 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  389 

fronit,  t'lie  besit  the  friends  of  Jesu<s  could  do  was  tO'  look 
on  from  afar.  Mt.  Calvary,  as  the  name  implies,  rises 
up  from  a  plateau  of  Moriaih  in  the  form  of  a  human 
skull.  Henoe  the  scene  on  the  summit  was  very  conspic- 
uous from  otlier  (heights  round  about,  and  especially 
from  all  parts  of  great  Mt.  O'liviet,  just  across  the  Valley 
of  JehosllMphat  eastward.  We  see  here  how  momen- 
tously this  bloody  tragedy  impre&sed  all  in  the  finale. 
Even  the  heathen  Eoman  centurion,  when,  he  saw  the  sun 
darken,  the  earthquake,  .and.  the  ro^vs  broken  up,  was 
terrified,  and  said  to  the  hundred  soldiers,  "Surely,  this 
was  a  righteous  man  V' 

The  Romans  always  crucified  their  criminals  in  the 
most  conspicuous  places,  so  as  to  give  the  bloody  work 
the  greatest  notoriety,  and  make  it  most  terrific  to  evil- 
doers. Hence  they  chose  the  hill  Oalvar\^,  in  the  angle 
of  the  two  most  important  streets,  those  of  Damascus 
and  Jericho;  consequently  tlie  multitudes  witnessing 
were  immense,  as  Jerusalem  was  then  thronged  with  pil- 
grims from  tlie  ends  of  the  earth  to  'attend  the  Passover. 

Such  was  the  awful  manifestations  of  the  Divine 
Presenee,  in  the  miracles  wrought,  and  the  utterances  of 
the  dying  Jesus,  that  conviction,  like  a  nightmare,  set- 
tled down  on  the  multitude,  so  they  all  went  away  beat- 
ing their  breasts  with  horror.  Those  convictions  tarried 
with  them  and  wrought  the  antecedent  preparation  for 
the  wonderful  revival  of  Pentecost  fifty  days  subse- 
quently. 

THE   INTERMENT. 

John  19  :31.    ''Then  the  Jews,  in  ord^er  that  the  bodies 
may  not  remain  on  the  cross  on  the  Sabbath ....  ask  Pi- 


390  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

late  thiat  they  may  break  tli'eir  legs  and  take  them  down. 
Then  the  sKDldiers  hroke  tihte  legs  of  the  fixst  and  tihe  other 
one,  who  was  eracafied'  along  with  him.     But  having 
come  to  JesTis,  when  ^ey  »saw  tha.t  He  was  ailxeady  dead, 
they  did'  not  hreak  His  legs,  but  one  of  the  soldiers 
pierced  His  side  with  a  spear,  and  immediately  blood 
and  water  came  out.^^    The  Mood  and  water  are  the  only 
elements  involved  in  the  -plan  of  salvation.    The  blood 
redeems  and  saniotifies,  covering  the  entire  negative  h^em- 
isphere  of  the  re^dieKiptive  scheme.    Meanwhile  the  water 
regenerates  and  nourishes  forever.    There  is  no  mention 
of  blood  in  heaven.     It  did  its  work  on  Calvary.     But 
we  read  of  the  Elver  of  Life  rolling  on  its  limpid  bil- 
lows forever.    Water  s}anibolizes  life  and  perpetual  nonr- 
ishment.     The  life  we  receive  in  Tegeneraition  will  ex- 
pand into  seas  of  beauty  and  oceans  of  glory  and  move  on 
forever;  while  this  whole  world,  with  every  human  soul 
and  body,  is  red'eemed  by  the  blood,  and  destined  to  shine 
and  shout  through  all  eternity,  with  exceptional  cases, 
where  the  human  will,  antagonizing,  brings  in  signal 
and  hopeless  defeat.    Jesus  was  CTucified  on  Friday,  the 
very  day  on  which,  from  their  exodus  out  of  Egypt,  they 
had  always  slain  the  Passover  lamb,  Josephus  says,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  at  a  single  festival — thus 
vividly  typifying  through  the  rolling  ages  the  great  anti- 
type, the  ''^Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world.'' 

Mark  15  :42.  "It  already  being  evening,  since  it  was 
the  preparation,  it  was  the  day  before  the  Sabbath,  Jo- 
seph from  Arimathea,  an  honoT'able  counselor,  who  him- 
self, also,  wias  waiting  for  the  Kingdom  of  Grod,  having 
dared,  came  to  Pilate  and  asked  the  body  of  Jesus.  Pi- 


The  VdUdictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  391 

late  was  astonished  if  He  was  already  d&Sid.,  and  calling 
a  centurion,  he  asked  liim  if  He  was  lalready  dead.  And 
having  learned  from  the  centiiri'On,  he;  gave  the  body  to 
Joseph.  And  having  j^urchased  linen,  he  took  Him  down 
and  wrapped  Him  in  the  linen  and  placed'  Him  in  a 
tomb  which  had  been  hewn  out  of  tiie  rocks,  and  rolled 
a  stone  to  tho  door  of  the  tomb." 

John  19  :39.  '^icodemus  aJso,  the  one  having  come 
to  Jesus  at  night  m  tlie  first  place,  came,  bringing  a 
quantity  of  myrrh  and  aloesr,  about  a  hundred  pounds. 
Then  they  took  the  body  of  Jesiis  and  s"wathed  it  with 
graveclothes  along  with  the  aromatios,  as  is  customary 
for  the  Jews  to  embalm.  And  there  was  a  garden  in  the 
place  where  He  was  crudified,  a  new  sepulchre^  in  which 
no  one  has  yet  been  placed.  Then  on  account  of  tlie 
preparation  of  tlie  Jews,  becaiiBe  the  sepuldhxe  was  nigh. 
they  placed  Jesus  there." 

Luke  23  :o5.  "x\nd  the  women,  who  bad  t?ome  along 
with  Him  out  of  Galilee,  following,  sa^w  the  sepnlclire, 
and  where  His  body  wa^  placed.  And  returning,  they 
prepare  aromatics  and  myrrh ;  and  they  kept  the  Sab- 
bath according  to  the  commandment."  The  tomb  is 
excavated  out  of  the  great  solid  rock  at  the  base  of  Mt, 
Calvary,  and  o^^ens  into  a  garden.  Joseph,  a  wealthy 
rabbi,  had  it  made  at  hie  own  expense  and  for  his  owr^ 
boJy,  and  doubtless  He  familj' ;  because  there  are  really 
Mault'S  in  it  and  room  for  iiTany  moa^e.  Nicodemus,  at 
hiB  own  expense,  brings  a  hiffid'refd  poun.de  of  those  val- 
uable aromatics,  which  mwst  have  cost  quite  a  sum. 

Dlirdug  my  last  tour  I  visi-ted:  blie  old  city,  Arimatbea, 
•v^ene  Josepli  lived,  ajid,  tradition  says,  XioodemTis  also. 
Witih  other  cities  it  went  into  desolation  during  the  Eo- 


392  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

man  wars,  whioli  exterminated  the  Jews  out  of  the 
land,  anki  remained  desolate  until  a  few  years  ago. 
when  a  Jewish  colony  dropped  on  the  site  of  the  an- 
cient city,  revived  it,  and,  as  they  do  every  place  where 
they  settle,  they  built  it  up  into  booming  prosperity, 
thus  verifying  the  prophecy  of  Jesus  in  reference  to  the 
revival  of  the  fig  tree,  which  had  withered  away  under 
the  anathema  wiiich  He  ha.d  enunciated.  Thus  we  see 
these  two  eminent  doctors  'of  divinity  and  rulers  of 
Israel,  though  disciples  of  Jesus,  were  intimidated  into 
comparative  -silence,  during  his  life;  but  became  bold, 
and  gave  the  world  an  open  and  abiding  testimony  in 
His  death.  A  singular  phenomenon  has  transpired  in 
the  case  of  millions  of  His  followers.  Many  saints  find 
their  friends  standing  aloof  while  they  live,  who  boldly 
honor  their  memories,  and  propagate  their  principles 
when  ihey  axe  dead.  The  interment  of  Jesus  there  was 
unanticipated,  and  really  precipitated  by  the  proxim- 
ity 'of  the  Sabbath,  which  was  &o  rigidly  kept  by  the 
Jews.  Physicians  certify  that  Jesus  died  of  a  broken 
heart;  as  you  see  when  the  soldiers  came  along  to  break 
their  limbs,  to  their  surprise  they  found  Him  already 
dead,  whereas  it  is  certified  that  the  victims  of  crucifix- 
ion generally  hung  on  the  cross  several  days  before  they 
expired.  Medical  tesitimony  certifies  that  the  water  and 
blood  that  flowed  out  of  His  heart  when  penetrated  by 
the  Roman  spear,  were  evidences  that  coagulation  had 
already  taken  place,  separating  the  serum  from  the 
ooaguliun.  Tlie  indefragibility  of  His  bones,  accord- 
ing to  prophecy,  vividly  emblematizes  the  real  and  vi- 
tal imity  of  His  church,  which  is  His  body.  Though 
the  power  of  the  whole  world  concentrated  in  Rome  had 


The  Valedictory  Sermon  and  Prayer.  3?  '> 

commanded  those  soldiers  to  ^break  His  bones,  yet  they 
did  it  not,  involving  tlie  consolatory  assurance  that  the 
combined  powers  of  earth  and  hell  can  never  break  an 
essential  oonstitnency  of  His  church ;  which  is  a  spirit- 
ual unit  in  all  the  world,  irrespective  of  race,  color, 
nationality,  creed,  or  sect.  On  three  -different  occasions 
during  cur  Lord^s  ministr)^.  He  had  clearly  predicted 
His  resurrection  from  tiie  d>ead.  Coftieequeaitly  the 
chief  priests,  scribes  and  elders  hold  a  consultation  ami 
determine  to  malve  good  their  enterprise;  therefore  they 
go  to  Pilate  and  tell  him,  ''^Tliis  deceiver,  while  living, 
predicted  His  own  resm'rection  from  the  dead :  therefore 
please  send  a  guard  to  take  possession  of  the  sepulchre, 
and  stan&  sentinel  three  days  and  nights,  lest  His  dis- 
ciples com'e  and  steal  Him  away,  and  circulate  the  re- 
port, that  He  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  the  last  error 
be  worse  than  the  first."  Pilate  acquiesces, 
sends  oif  the  guard,  and  puts  his  own  seal  on  th>e  stone 
that  closes  the  sepulchre,  the  breaking  of  which  was  a 
penalty  of  death. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

DESCENSION    INTO    HADES. 

Had'es  is  a  Greek  eampound  from  alpha,  not,  and 
eidoo,  to  see.  Tlierefore,  it  nieaois  the  unseen  world, 
including  both  heaven  and  hell.  In  the  E,  V.  it  is 
frequently  translated  hell; /hut  not  so  in  the  E.  V., 
where  the  original  word  "Hades^^  is  sionply  transferred; 
e.  g.,  Luke  ch.  16  describes  Dives  lifting  up  his  eyes 
in  Hades,  and  Lazarus  carried  by  the  angels  to  Abra- 
ham's bosom.  They  are  invisible,  and'  in  conversational 
proximity  to  each  other,  which,  I  trow,  does  not  obtain 
in  case  of  heaven  and  hell. 

Dives  was  in  hell,  as  you  see  from  his  testimony  lO 
the  fire,  while  Lazarus  was  in  tlie  Intermediate  Para- 
dise designated,  ^Abraham's  bosom,'  and  whither  all  oi 
the  0.  T.  saints,  except  Enoch,  Elijah  and  Moses  who 
went  to  heaven,  were  with  their  bodies,  gathered,  enjoy- 
ing ineffable  bliss,  awaiting  the  sealing  of  the  Abra- 
ham ic  covenant  with  the  blood  of  Christ,  which  was 
esf^ential  to  its  eternal  validity;  and  through  which  all 
the  O.  T.  saints  were  saved.  Hades  at  that  time  con- 
tained hell  and  the  intermediate  paradise,  which  Jesus 
abolished  during  His  decension,  leading  up  all  the 
inmates,  who  remiained  with  Him  on  the  earth,  (in- 
visible because  disembodied)  and  ascended  with  Him 
into  Heaven,  which  has  ever  since  been  wide  open  to 
every  blood-washed  soul,  following  in  the  track  of  Jesus 
who  led  the  way.     You  remember    well     King  Saul's 


Descension  Into  Hades.  395 

visit  to  the  witch  of  Endor  when  his  armies  were  on  Mt. 
Giil'boa,  and  the  Philistines  at  Shunem,  with  terrible 
battles  being  daily  fought  on  the  Plain  of  Esdraeleon. 
In  my  mind,  I  now  see  all  those  places  which  I  visit- 
ed two  years  ago.  Because  Saul  had  spared  Agag,  the 
king  of  the  Amalekites,  the  s}Tnbol  of  inbred  sin, 
w"hom  God  commanded  him  to  destroy;  He  departed 
from  him,  no  longer  answering  him  by  dreamis*,  or  vis- 
ion, or  Urim  or  Thummim.  Meanwhile  the  Philistines 
were  defeating  him  in  every  battle,  and  it  seemed  that 
every  hope  was  sinking  into  the  gloom  of  eternal  night. 
Thereffore,  in  his  desperation,  he  trudges  away  in  the 
night  ten  miles  to  Endor,  that  he  m'ay  consult  Satan's 
fortune-teller.  When. the  hag  calls  upon  the  spirits 
from  the  eterrual  world  to  respond,  Gnod  avails  Himself 
of  the  opportunity  to  send  up  Samuel,  this  holy  prophet 
from  the  0.  T.  Paradise.  The  witch  in  her  affright, 
exelaim's,  "I  see  godfe  ascending  up  out  of  the  earth," 
showing  that  Samuel  was  down  in  Hades  and'  not  in 
Heaven.  When  he  delivers  his  message  to  Saul,  he  noti- 
fies him,  ^^Tt)^m'orrow  you  and  your  sons  will  be  with 
jReJ'  -Saul  was  a  poor  backslider,  having  apostatized 
after  a  glorious  conversion,  because  he  did  not  go  on 
into  sanctification  by  killing  Agag,  old  Adam,  the  man 
of  sin,  the  carnal  mind.  His  sons  were  unconverted 
(I  trow).  The  next  day  Saul  witnesseid  the  hopeless 
dtefeat  of  his  army,  the  death  of  his  sons,  and  com- 
mitted simcide.  Koiw  the  very  fact  that  Samuel  said, 
^'TonuDrpow  you  and  your  wns  wdll  be  with  me,"  cor- 
roborates Luke  xvi  in  reference  to  Dives'  being  in  hell 
and  Liazarus  in  Abrali&m^'S  bos'om,  yet  in  conversation- 
al proximity.     Samuel  was  ako  in  Abraham^s  bosom. 


396  Life  of  Jesus  mid  His  Apostles. 

Saul  and  his  sons,  like  Dives,  who  with  them  was  a 
member  of  the  Jewish  church,  s'ank  into  hell.  They 
were  together  in  the  sense  in  which  every  community 
contains  the  happy  and  the  miserable. 

Acts  iv:29-33.  "Thou  wilt  not  leave  his  soul  in 
hell  nor  snifer  thy  Holy  One  to  se^  corruption.^'  Hell 
here  is  Hades  in  the  original.  There  are  many  places 
in  the  New  Testament  where  you  find  hell  in  E.  V.  and 
gelienna  the  Greek,  which  never  means  anything  but 
hell,  being  specific,  while  Hades  is  generic,  including 
both  heaven  and  hell.  Wh'erever  you  find  hell  m  the 
E.  v.,  it  is  gehenim,  and  which  ne^ver  means  anything 
but  hell.  From  the  above  scripture  you  see  clearly  that 
our  Savior's  soul  waa  in  Hades,  while  His  body  was 
in  the  tomb.  1  Peter  3  :18.  "Being  put  to  death  in  the 
fleda  and  quickened  in  the  spirit,  by  which  he  went  and 
preached  (E.  V.) — poxxikimied,  R.  V.) — to  the  spirits 
in  prison,  who  were  at  one  time  disobedient,  when  the 
long  suffering  of  Grod  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah,  while 
the  ark  waa  being  prepared.  In  the  E.  V.  spirits  in 
this  passage  is  capitalized  because  the  translators 
thought  it  refeTed'  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is  a  mis- 
take because  "flmt  would  break  up  the  ^antithesis  be- 
tween flesh  and  spirit,  there  so  clear  and  prominent. 
The  simple  solution  is,  w^hen  his  body  was  put  to  deatii 
His  human  spirit,  received  a  wonderful  quickening  by 
the  Holy  Spirit;  by  which  (quickening)  He  went  and 
proclaimed'  to  the  spirits  in  p>ri3on,  i.  e.,  antediluvians 
and  other  lost  spirits.  Tliis  passage  is  the  pillar  of  the 
Eoman  Catholic  purgatory  and  other  theories  on  future 
probation,  i.  -e.,  going  on  the  hypothesis  that  sinners 
will  enjoy  other    opportunities  after     they  leave  this 


Descension  Into  Hades.  397 

world;  i.  e.,  probation  will  continue  on  in  eternity. 
"wMcih.  is  fl'a"tly  'contradictory  of  tlie  uniform  teaching 
of  Grod^s  Word,  and  a  seductive  delusion  of  the  devil,  lo 
hold  people  in  sin  till  he  can  dump  them'  into  hell. 
The  E.  V.  is  correct,  which  gives  it  "pToclaimed  to  the 
spirits  in  prison/'  as  that  is  the  literal  meordng,  eherux- 
en,  which  we  find  in  the  original,  arud  not  euaggellein 
which  m'eang  to  preach  the  gospel.  Thexefore,  there  is 
no  gospel  in  it.  It  simiply  means  to  proclaim;  and  is 
from  kerux,  a  herald,  sent  out  hy  the  king  to  proclaim 
his  message.  Here  the  simple  meaning  of  it  is  that  tlie 
human  soul  of  Jesus  left  His  body  and  went  down  to 
Hades,  and  there  proclaimed  the  victory  He  had  won  on 
Calvary. 

Matt.  12  :20.  As  Jonah  was  three  days  and  three 
nights  in  the  stomach  of  tho  whale,  even  so  must  the 
Son  of  Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart 
of  the  earth.  This  does  not  apply  to  the  sepulchre 
which  is  on  the  surface,  and  entered  not  descendingly 
but  'horizontallly ;  for  I  have  been  in  it  twice.  It  refers 
to  the  fact  of  our  Lord's  actuaUy  descending  into  the 
deep  interior  of  the  earth,  i.  e..  Hades.  Eph.  iv:10. 
"And  he  that  ascended  is  lih^  same  as  he  that  de- 
scended, first  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  and 
led  captivity  captive.-'^  "Lower  parts  of  the  earth'^ 
is  a  phrase  never  applied  to  the  sepulchre.  While  Sa- 
tan being  a  fallen  archangel,  and  having  retained  the 
wonderful  inte'llectual  power  he  enjoyed  in  heaven 
while  he  kept  his  first  estate,  he  is  utterly  destitute 
of  spiritual  light,  his  diagnosis  of  spiritual  things  is 
black  as  the  midnight  of  hell.  When  Jesus  was  born 
in  Bethlehem^  He  stirred  up  King  Herod,  a  boasted 


398  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

diurdi  nienil>er,  to  kiJl  Mni.  No  sooner  "was  He  conse- 
crated to  Hig  Messiahsliip  by  John  the  Baptist,  and 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  than  Satan  assaulted.  Him  in 
the  wilderness,  brtngln'g  into  a-wailabilit};  all  the  artil- 
lery of  hell.  Duiinig  tJi-e  three  years  of  Hig  ministry 
Satan  'hounded  Htm  through  Judea,  Galilee,  Perea, 
Syria  and  Saniaria ;  stirring  the  fallen  church,  and  the 
widked  world  indiscriminately  against  Him.  Hia  work 
moves  on '  constantly,  gains  ground,  meanwhile  he  fills 
the  leading  preachers  and  officials  of  the  church,  wfth 
all  the  wisdom  of  the  pandemonium,  night  anx^  day 
stirring  up  the  hell-houndfe^  hot  om  His  tracky  tiUffnally 
there  is  a  grand  culmination:  iur  the  treasonT  of  Judas, 
who  betrays  Him  infb  the  handift  of  tha  high  priests  and 
elders,  who  have  long  been  thirsting  for  His  blood>j  ancl 
are  actually  taken  possession  of  by  a  thousand  mui'der 
demons.  When  sl  black  courier  from  GTethsemane 
reaches  the  pandfemonium  with*  the  news,  ^'^We  have 
gotten  Him  at  lash/^  oh,  what  a  roaring  shouf  rises 
from  the  hottomleaa  pit  I  Two  hours  rolt  away,  another 
courier  arrivo^andl  reports  the  denial  of  Peter  and  the 
conderanatioo  of  the  high  priest,  eliciting  another  shout 
of  victory.  Twti  hours  moro  have  flown,  and  another 
black  courier  arrives  with  the  tidings,  ^The  full  san- 
hedrim hag  unanimously  condemned  Him  to  die  for 
blasphemy.^^  Again  there  is  a  jubilant  uproar.  Two 
hours  more  have  flown„  another  courier  arrives  and  re- 
ports, "He  is  now  in  the  hands  of  our  faithful,  loyal 
Pilate,^'  so  the  matter  is  in  our  favor.  Shouts  of  vic- 
tory roar  on.  An  hour  has  flown,  and  the  tidings  come,. 
"He  is  get  at  naught  by  our  servant,  King  Herod,  and 
his  men  of  war."    All  take  courage,  the  tide  is  rising. 


Descension  Into  Hades.  399 

Another  hour  is  flown,  a  messenger  arrives  and  report?. 
"They  have  already  led  Him  into  Pilate^s  judgment 
hall,  and  are  sconrging  Him  &0  cru-elly  that  there  is  a 
probability  that  He  will  drop  dead/'  A  wonderful  boom 
sweeps  through  the  pau'demonium !  Another  hour  has 
flown,  and  a  black  courier  dashes  in,  roaring  out  the 
glad  tidings,  "The  thing  is  settled;  our  noble  govemoi: 
Pilate  ha;8  signed  His  death  warrant,  and  mighty  Eom-e 
will  settle  His  destiny  by  a  speedy  and  a  cruel  death/' 
Soon  another  black  herald  arrives,  wit^h  the  thrilling 
news,  "Our  servants  are  even  now  nailing  Him  to  the 
cross."  !N'ow  cohorts  of  demons  are  constantly  winging 
their  flight  from  Calvary  to  the  pandemionium  with 
news  unutterably  cheering.  Finally  the  proclamation 
rings  out :  "He  is  now  in  the  throes  of  death.''  Satan 
on  his  ebon  throne,  in  the  center  of  the  pandemonium, 
commands  a  thousand  tall  demons  to  mount  up  and  su- 
perscribe on  the  walls  of  hell  in  great,  glowing  capitals, 
luminous  with  lurid  flames,  that  significant  w-ord,  "Vic- 
tory." For  the  devil  and  his  peers  sanguinely  believed, 
that  if  they  could  kill  the  body  of  Jesus,  the  four  thous- 
and years  of  war  wound  up  in  their  favor.  Hark !  What 
is  that  awful  cataract  of  thund'er  claps?  This  moment 
the  gates  of  hell  are  knocked-  down,  by  tlie  battering 
rams  of  salvation!  Hark!  Behold!  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
walks  in !  His  human  soul  having  evacuat-ed  His  dead 
body,  has  descended  into  hell,  to  proclaim  the  victory  He 
won  on  Calvary.  The  very  thing  the  d'evil  thought 
would  give  him  the  victor}^  broke  his  back  and  gave 
the  victory  to  Jesus.  The  thousand  tall  demons,  writ- 
ing "Victory"  on  the  wall,  suddenly  drop  with  paralyz- 
ing horror.     Millions  of  devils  shriek  and  wail  as  tiiey 


400  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

gaze  upon  the  trimnpliant  Conqueror  of  Mt.  Calvary;  as 
with  conquering  tread,  He  walks  ^around  the  w^alls  with 
His  own  hands,  pulling  down  the  trophies  of  four  thou- 
sand years  of  successful  warfare,  and  treading  them  be- 
neath His  feet !  Now  he  makes  at  old  King  Diabolus, 
sitting  on  his  ebon  throne  in  the  center  of  the  pande- 
monium, seizes  him  by  the  throat,  drags  him  down,  putt 
His  foot  on  'his  neck,  and  verifies  the  first  promise  God 
ever  made  to  the  fallen  twain :  "The  seed  of  the  woman 
shall  bruise  the  serpent^s  head/^  Having  thus  pro- 
claimed His  victory  to  the  millions  of  hell,  He  crosses 
that  deep  chasm  (Luke  15:26),  im-passable  to  all  finite 
beings,  but  not  to  Him;  enters  the  Intermediate 
Paradise,  called  Abraham^g  bosom,  and  there  meets  the 
thief,  pursuant  to  His  piiaimisie  He  made  him  on  the 
cross  (Luke  23:43),  "I  say  unto  thee,  this  day  thou 
shalt  be  with  me  in  Paradise."  Thi^  Paradise  was  not 
Heaven,  'because  Jesus  told  Mary  on  the  resurreiction 
morn.  He  had  not  yet  asscended  tliither.  So  this  was 
none  other  than  Abraham's  bosom,  the  0.  T.  Paradise. 
Of  course  He  arrived  thither  before  midnight  on 
Friday,  having  died  at  3  p.  m.  On  His  arrival,  oh 
what  a  commotion !  The  thief  rung  to  meet  Him  with 
a  triumphant  shout;  Here  comes  father  Abraham,  leap- 
ing and  bounding;  Isaac,  Jacob,  Job,  Daniel,  Isaiah, 
Ezekiel,  Jeremiaih,  the  Hebrew  children,  John  the  Bap- 
tist, and  the  mighty  host  of  0.  T.  saints,  who  had  been 
gathering  thither  .since  the  days  of  Abel !  Never  in  ail 
the  forty  centuries  fied  has  such  an  ovation  reached  the 
Intermediate  Paradise!  Now  the  good  Sabbath  of  the 
patriarchs  and  prophets  beginning  at  midnight  ushers 
in.    The  tongue  of  seraph  can  never  describe  that  vale- 


Descension  Into  Hades.  401 

dictory  Sabbath  which  they  all  enjoyed  in  the  presence 
of  the  Great  Antitype,  thrilled  and  filled  with  the  con- 
solation, that  the  wonderful  symbolism  in  which  they 
lived  and  died,  pointing  ho  the  glorious  coming  Messiah, 
has  all  been  fulfilted'.  Golden  harps  are  inadequate  to 
proclaim  the  jubilant  gaudeamuSf  that  fills  all  the 
happy  spirits  of  that  sacramental  host. 

While  that  wond-erful  Sabbath  glides  away,  the 
Prince  of  Glory  martials  them  for  the  evacuatioiL  of 
that  Paradise  in  whdeh.  they  hav^  enjoyed  heavenly  pre- 
libations  all  the  time.  But  it  was  only  a  temporary 
abiding  till  the  culminating  victory  of  Mt.  Calvary,  to 
verify  all  iihq  typ^  and  shadows  and  the  Redeemer  of 
Israel  seal  the  Messianic  and  Abrahamic  covenant  with 
His  blood.  O'h  wlxafc  a  triumph  on  the  publicity  of  this 
wonderful  achievement  m  tli-Q  0.  T.  Paradise !  So  now 
preparations  are  .made  for  its  evacuation  and  the  ascen- 
sion begins  after  the  midnight  has  culminated  and 
ushered  in  the  first  day  of  iSxQ  week,  destined  to  super- 
sede the  0.  'T.  Sa'bbath,  nefver  to  be  abolished,  but  eter- 
nally celebrated  as  the  glorious  memento  of  the  Lord's 
resurrection. 

Eph.  iv:10.  "He  led  captivity  captive.^'  All  the 
souls  in  the  0.  T.  Paradise  are  His  captives;  because  He 
captured  every  one  of  them  from  the  devil.  So  now 
the  new  week  is  u^ered  in. 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 


THE   RESURRECTION. 


Matt,  xxviii  :2.  Behold,  there  was  a  great  earth- 
quake, and  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  having  come  down 
from  heaven,  rolled  away  the  stone  from  the 
door,  and  sat  upon  it,     His   countenance  was    like 

lightning,  and  his  raiment  white  as  snow.  And  from 
fear  of  him  the  keepers  'did  quake  and  become  like  dead 
n:en."  Matthew  says,  "At  the  last  of  the  Sabbaths,  and 
on  the  dawn,  toward  the  first  of  the  Sabbath,  i.  e.,  at- 
the  close  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  and  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  Sabbath,  Mary  Magdalene  and  the  other 
Mary  came  to  see  the  sepulchre,  Mark  says,  "Exceed- 
ingly early  in  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  Sab- 
bath they  came  to  the  sepulchre,  the  sun  approaching 
the  horizon."  Luke  says,  "On  the  first  of  the  Sabbaths, 
at  the  depth  of  the  dawn,  they  came  to  the  sepulchre, 
bearing  aromatics,  which  they  prepared."  John  says, 
"On  the  first  of  the  Sabbaths  Mary  Magdalene  comes 
to  the  sepulchre  early  in  the  morning,  it  being  yet  dark." 
We  find  a  substantial  harmony  among  all  the  four  in- 
spired writers  in  reference  to  the  time.  Matthew  wrote 
his  gospel  in  Judea  for  the  Jews,  A.  D.  48 ;  Mark  wrote 
his  in  Eome.  for  the  Eomans,  at  the  dictation  of  Peter; 
A.  D.  63;  Luke  wrote  his  in  Greece  for  the  Greeks  at 
the  dictation  of  Paul.  A.  D.  58 ;  and  John  wrote  his  for 
the  Christians  at  Ephesus,  Asia  Minor,  A.  D.  98.  They 
were  all  in  different  countries,  dispersed  abroad  in  their 

402 


The  Uesurrection.  403 

evan'g^listic  perqgrinationiS,   and  separated  in  time  by 
period's  of  years.     Wliile  there  is  sufficient  diversity  in 
phraseoloigy    aoiid    style,    to    refute    the    hypotliesis    of 
cither's  being  copied  from  the  other;yet  you  observe  a 
perfect,  subs.t.antia.1  harmony  and  id^entity.     This  is  ex- 
ceedingly important    as  the  resurrection    is  the  grand 
confirmation  of  His  Christhood,  and    has    in  all  ages 
been  assaulted  by  infidels  with  unsparing    and  virulent 
criticism.    Two  K?elebrated  infidels,  both  prominent  Eng- 
lish Lords,  Littleton  and  Bolingbroke, '  entered  into  a 
conspiracy  to  attack    and  refute     Christianity;  one  of 
them  taking  the  'Ees-urrection  of  Christ'  for  his  subject, 
and  the  other  the  'Conversion  of  Paul.'     Both  labored 
assiduously,   and   did  thedr  best   to  utterly   smash  the 
whole  superstructure  of  Christianity.     Having  respec- 
tively finished  their  jobs,  they  meet  again,  both  having 
been  happily  converted  to  Christianity,  by  the  very  ef- 
forts they  made  to  refute  it.     If  Christ  had  not  ris'en 
from  the  dead',  He 'would  simply  have  droipped  back  to 
the  plane  of  the  prophets,  leaving  the  world  still  in  an- 
ticipation of  the  S^hiloh  to  come.     Though  Jesus  had 
three  times  distinotly  predicted  His  tragic  death  and 
triumphant   resnrrection,   joi   His  disciples   never   re- 
ceived it.     The     explanation  is  given.     Matthew     and 
Mark  say,   '^They  understood  not   those  things   which 
were  spoken.'^    Luke  says,  "This  word  was  hidden  from 
them.'^    Why  did  Jesus  predict  it?    Because  it  was  that 
indispensable  link  in  the  prophetical  chain  which  binds 
the  Christian  world  to  the  infallible  promises  of  Grod. 
Why  did  the  Holy  Grhost  hide  it  from  them  ?    In  order 
to  keep  the  peace,  and  save  the  lives  of  thousands  who 
would  have    fought,  bled  and  died    in  the    defense  of 


404  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles.  . 

Jesiis.  You  rememsber  in  Csesarea  Philippi,  when  He 
first  predicted  His  arrest,  condemnation  and"  execu- 
tion by  His  enemies  in  Jerusalem,  and  resurreetion  tlie 
third  day,  Peter  rusihed  up,  took  Him  by  the  arm  and 
said:  "Be  it  far  from  Thee,  these  things  shall  not  be 
done  unto  Thee."  Peter's  meaning  wa&,  "They  'camiot  do 
that ;  we  will  all  fight  for  you ;  thousands  will  rally  and 
die  in  your  defense.^^  Therefore  it  was  absolutely  nec- 
essary to  withhold  the  awful  facts  of  His  tragical  suf- 
ferings and  death  from  His  disciples,  in  order  to  keep 
down  a  bloody  civil  war.  Jesus  Imd  stirred  Israel  from 
ceTiter  to  circumference ;  moanwhile  multitudes  of  other 
nations  had  come  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  being 
spellbound  with  His  eloquence  and  tihe  contemplation  of 
His  mighty  works.  If  they  had  understood  the  awful 
events  impending,  thiC  cruel  scourging  of  the  Judgment 
Hall,  and  the  bloody  crucifixion  of  Calvary,  every  apos- 
tle would  have  turned  i*ecruiting  ofhcer,  and  Peter 
would  have  mounted  the  saddle,  heading  the  embattled 
host  to  victory  or  death.  You  remember  He  said  at  thj3 
last  supper,  '^You  mil  all  l>e  offended  in  me  thd's  naght.'^ 
The  word,  "offend^'  is  from  scanulalon^  a  stumlbling 
block,  and  literally  means  to  stmnble,  giet  joaitled,  or 
upset,  relaxing  ymr  grip,  suffering  detriment  to  your 
faith.  At  that  time  they  all  had  faith  in  Him  as  the 
Christ.  This  suffered  an  awful  shock  that  night,  and 
the  day  following  as  tlie  tide  arose  against  Him  more 
and  more,  till  He  was  condenmed  and  nailed  to  the 
cross;  meanwhile  their  faith  in  His  Christhood,  suffer- 
ed more  and  more  detriment.  Yet  amid  all  these  hor- 
rific scenes  of  diabolical  rage  on  the  part  of  His  ene- 
mies, an  awful,  brutal,  satanic  cruelty  poured  on  Him 


The  Resurrection.  405 

without  mercy,  increasing  with  appalling  rapidity;  ap- 
parently all  hope  having  fled  away,  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness 'having  full  ffway.  Still  His  disciples,  though  fu- 
gitives for  thedr  o^^'^l  lives,  contemplated  tlie  scene  from 
Mt.  Olivet.  Looking  over  the  Valley  of  J  ehoshapha,tin 
the  cloudless  Palestinian  sky,  they  had  a  most  conspicu- 
ous view  of  the  awful  tragedy  in  which  earth  and  hell 
com)bined  were  turned  loose  against  Jesus  of  Xazareth, 
whom  they  verily  believed  to  be  the  Christ  of  Grod,  the 
Shiloh  of  prophecy,  the  Eedeemer  of  Israel  and  the 
Savior  of  the  ^x)rld.  Yet  s'o  settled  were  tJiey  in  those 
beautiful  prophecies,  which  described  Christ  as  a  tri- 
umphant Conqueror  '^weeping  all  His  enemies  from  the 
field,  and  sitting  dowoi  upon  the  throne  of  David  to 
reign  foreiver,  which  will  all  be  fulfilled  at  His  second 
coming,  that  they  were  disposed  rather  to  overlook 
those  dark  prophecies,describing  him  as  ''a  man  of  sor- 
rows, and  acquainted  with  grief,"  laying  down  His  life 
for  the  world,  which  really  dcscrihes  the  tragical  events 
of  His  first  advent.  So  confident  are  they  that  He  is 
the  Christ,  they  feel  perfectly  assured  that  He  is  im- 
mortal and  canuHDt  be  killed.  Tlierefore  they  gaze  upon 
the  awful  scenes  of  Calvary,  in  clear  and  full  view  from 
Mt.  Olivet,  every  moment  expecting  Him  to  resume 
the  wonderful  power  that  poured,  the  light  on  the 
sightless  eyeball,  caused  the  deaf  to  hear,  the  lame  to 
walk,  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  to  sing,  speak  the  dead 
to  life  and  calmed  the  roaring  sea,  defeat  all  of 
His  enemies,  miraculously  come  down  from  the  cross. 
pass  invisible  through  the  air,  and  join  them  as  on 
former  occasions.  But  they  wait  as  hour  after  hour 
glides  away,  till  the  news  arrives.  He  is  actually  dead, 


406  Life  of  Jesus  mid  His  Apostles. 

and  Pilate  has  given  Him  up  to  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
for  interment.  As  the  multitudes  disperse  leaving  Mt. 
Calvary,  with  its  three  corpses  to  the  lonely  contempla- 
tion of  the  majestic  full  moon  and  the  glittering  con- 
stellations, Peter,  John,  James,  Lazarus,  Rabbi,  Amos 
and  others  assist  Joseph  and  Nieodemus  in  taking  down 
the  body  from  the  cross,  with  friendly  hands  and  broken 
]iearts,  laying  Him  on  a  bier  of  brush,  they  carry  Him 
down  Mt.  Calvary  and  lay  Him  away  in  Joseph's  new 
tomb,  swathed  in  fine  linen  and  Oriental  aromatics,  af- 
ter the  manner  of  the  Jewish  embalmment.  Nicodemug 
poured  out  his  money  as  for  the  interment  of  a  prince. 
With  strong  hands  all  placed  the  ponderous  stone  i)f 
the  sepulchre,  bidding  adieu  to  the  One  whose  love  they 
never  could  tell.  Now  they  all  gather  at  the  house  of 
Eabbi  Amos  in  the  metropolis.  He  is  a  friend  of 
Jesus,  and  there  they  enter  upon  their  mourning.  Tlie 
Jews  mourn  seven  days  for  the  dead.  AA^ien  they  see 
Him  expire  and  bury  Him,  they  give  up  all  hope  of  His 
Christhood,  their  Messianic  faith  in  Him  utterly 
evanescing.  So  they  relegate  Him  to  the  ranks  of  the 
prophets.  No  difficulty  in  this,  because  -so  many  of  the 
prophets  had  been  slain  at  Jerusalem;  the  memory  of 
John  the  Baptist,  who  had  I^cctl  decapitated  by  King 
Herod  only  six  months  ago,  is  still  quite  vivid.  While 
they  thus  give  Him  up  as  the  Christ  and  canonize  Hira 
as  a  prophet,  they  all  certify  that  He  was  really  the 
greatest  prophet  God  had  ever  sent  to  Israel.  In  thus 
dropping  Him  ('.own  from  the  Christhood,  and  relegat- 
ing Him  to  the  proj)hets,  the  difficulty  was  n^t  so  great 
as  one  might  think.  They  all  knew  that  both  Elijah  and 
Elisha  'had  raised  the  dead,  and  wrought  many  other 


The  Resurrection.  407 

stupendous  miracles.  The  relaxation  of  their  Messianic 
faith  in  Him  did  not  necessarily  farfeit  their  justifica- 
tion as  they  simply  dropped  back  into  the  attitude  of 
faithful  and  loyal  members  of  the  Jewish  church,  still 
anticipating  the  Christ  to  come,  and  reposing  their 
faith  in  Him,  as  the  patriarchs,  prophets  and  saints  of 
by-gone  ages.  Xot\v  they  spend  the  night  in  mourning, 
as  the  deepest  grief  is  silent.  Xaught  is  heard,  but 
sighs,  groans,  heaving  sobs,  and  the  beating  of  hearts. 
The  mother  of  Jesus  is  with  them.  She  had  been  so 
elated  with  the  hope  that  her  Son  was  really  the  Ee- 
deemer  of  Israel,  but  now  is  awfully  crus'hed  and  brok- 
en-hearted over  His  sad  fate.  The  following  day  is  the 
Sabbath,  whose  sanctity  (even  ta  superstition)  was  their 
only  protection  from  cruel  arrest  and  punishment  as 
the  accomplices  of  the  ^lan  whom  they  crucified  for 
high  treason  against  the  Roman  government  and  im- 
posture in  the  Jews'  religion.  So  the  Sabbath  passes 
away  in  silent  mourning,  and  the  night  is  almost  gone. 
The  fair-fingered  Aurora,  the  daughter  of  the  da^^Tl,  be- 
gins to  cast  her  rosy  beauties  above  the  eastern  horizon, 
shooting  gleams  of  glory  from  the  summit  of  Mt.  Olivet. 
The  two  Mary's,  Salome  and  other  elect  daughters  of 
Zion,  set  out  with  all  expedition  for  the  sepulchre,  in 
order  to  augment  the  embalmment  which  liad  been  eur 
tered  upon  at  the  time  of  interment.  They  were  near 
the  Damascus  gate,  when  suddenly  a  band  of  soldiers 
came  dashing  through  as  if  they  were  shot  out  of  a 
cannon,  the  keeper  halting  them  and  demanding  an  ac- 
count of  themselves,  while  one  precipitately  dashed 
through  the  crowd  and  called  one  by  name:  '^Marius, 
<Io  tell  me  what  is  the  iiiatter  with  you  fellows  ?'^    "Oh, 


408  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostks. 

gatekeej^er,  we  were  appointed  to  guard  the  tomb  of 
that  Je^vish  prophet,  whom  they  crucified  day  before 
yesterday.  I  was  walking  in  front  of  the  sepulchre  with 
spear  in  hand^  g^^zing  up  at  the  morning  star,  when  sud- 
denly the  light  shines  all  around  me,  a  great  arch-angcl, 
with  countenance  like  lightning  and  raiment  white  as 
snow,  and  feet  like  pillars  of  fire,  sweeps  down  in  my 
presence,  touches  the  great  stone  with  his  finger,  and  It 
rolled  away  as  if  it  had  been  shot  from  a  catapult.  I 
looked  into  the  sepulchre  and  saw  that  dead  prophet 
get  up  from  the  marble  slab  on  which  He  '^vas  lying, 
and  walk  out;  meanwhile  the  tomb  and  the  regions 
round  about  are  filled  with  angels  shouting  ^Glor}^  to 
God  in  the  highest/  and  we  all  fell  and  became  as  dead 
men.  Oh!  let  me  go!"  And  he  dashed  away  on  the 
track  of  his  fugitive  comrades.  This  report  of  the  sol- 
diers wonderfully  astonishes  the  women,  who  are  pass- 
ing through  the  gate,  and  with  quickened  step  they  run 
on  toward  the  sepulchre.  Entering  the  garden,  they  see 
the  great  stone  has  been  rolled  away  and  a  glorious  arch- 
angel is  sitting  on  it.  His  countenance  is  like  lightning, 
and  his  raiment  white  as  snow.  They  tremble  and  quake 
with  fear,  peer  about  hesitating  to  approach.  The  angel 
shouts,  "Fear  not,  daughter  of  Jerusalem,  He  is  not 
here,  but  He  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  go  quickly  and  tell 
His  disciples  that  He  has  risen  from  the  dead.  Behold. 
He  goes  before  you  into  Galilee,  and  there  you  shall  see 
Him.  Behold,  I  have  told  j^ou  V  And  having  gone  out 
from  the  sepulchre  with  fear  and  great  jo}^,,  they  were 
running  to  tell  His  disciples;  find  while  they  were  go- 
ing to  tell  His  disciples,  Jesus  met  them,  saving. 
**Hail!"    And  they  having  come  to  Him,  took  hold  of 


The  Eesurrection.  409 

[His  feet  and  worshipped  Him.  Then  Jesus  said  to 
them,  "Fear  not,  go  tell  my  brethren  that  they  may  de- 
part into  Galilee,  and  there  they  shall  see  meJ' 

Matt  28 :7-10.  "And  returning  from  the  sepulchre 
they  proclaimed  all  these  things  to  the  eleven  and  all 
the  rest.  And  they  were  Mary  Magdalene  and  Mary  the 
mother  of  James  and  the  rest  along  with  them,  who 
were  speaking  these  things  to  the  apoi&tles.  And  their 
word  appeared  before  them  like  a  dream,  and  they  be- 
lieved them  not/' 

Luke  24 :9-ll.  "Then  Peter  and  the  other  disciple 
went  out  and  were  going  to  the  sepulchre.  And  the 
two  were  running  at  the  same  time;  the  other  disciple 
ran  faster  than  Peter  and  came  first  to  the  sepulchre. 
And  looking  do\\ii,  he  sees  the  graveclothes  lying;  in- 
deed lie  did  not  go  in.  Then  Simon  Peter  comes  fol- 
lowing him,  enters  into  the  sepulchre  and  sees  the  grave- 
clothes  lying,  and  the  napkin,  which  was  upon  His  head, 
not  lying  with  the  graveclothes,  hut  rolled  up  apart  in 
one  place.  Then  he  entered  in,  and  the  other  disciple, 
the  one  having  come  first  to  the  sepulchre,  saw  and  be- 
lieved, for  they  first  did  not  believe  the  Scripture  that 
it  behooved  Him  to  rise  from  the  dead.'' 

AATien  the  women  see  the  angel  sitting  on  the  stone, 
which  was  rolled  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  he 
tells  them  that  He  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  to  go 
quickly  and  tell  His  disciples,  that  He  is  risen,  and 
for  them  to  go  away  into  Galilee  and  there  they  shall 
see  Him,  in  the  mountain  where  He  had  appointed  to 
meet  them. 

In  response  to  the  mandate  of  the  angel,  the  wo- 
men set  out  to  tell  His  disciples.    Before  they  have  got- 


410  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

ten  out  of  the  garden,  Jesus  meets  and  salutes  tliem 
and  tells  them  to  go  and  tell  His  brethren  that  He  is 
risen  from  the  dead ;  and  for  them  to  return  to  Galilee, 
and  there  they  shall  meet  Him  in  person.  Our  Lord 
was  a  native  Galilean,  having  spent  the  first  thirty  years 
of  His  life  at  Kazareth  in  Galilee,  and  two  and  a  half 
years  out  of  the  three  years  of  His  ministr}i  in  the  same 
lovely  Galilee.  Methinks  these  are  the  reasons  why  He 
orders  His  apostles  t©  return  thither  to  meet  Him,  and 
to  identify  Him  to  their  satisfaction,  and  receive  their 
commission,  in  one  of  those  sacred  mountains,  not 
here  named,  but  I  opine  it  was  the  Mount  of  Beati- 
tudes, w^hich  hangs  over  Capernaum  from  the  north, 
dipping  her  feet  in  the  beautiful  Sea  of  Galilee.  Xow 
the  women  dash  away  at  race-horse  speed.  Their  feet 
take  wings  and  fly  back  to  the  mansion  of  Eabl)i  Amos, 
the  house  of  mourning.  Dashing  in  with  such  an  awful 
stam-pede,  they  arouse  all  the  mourners,  who  come  rush- 
ing out,  surprised  beyond  all  possible  utterance.  The 
women,  are  so  excited,  and  having  run  themselves  out  of 
breath,  that  it  is  very  difhcult  for  them  to  tell  the  news. 
They  seem  so  bewildered  that  the  disciples  conclude  that 
they  have  seen  a  vision  of  some  kind.  But  when  they 
report  that  they  have  actually  seen  an  angel  and  Jesus, 
himself,  they  conclude  that  it  is  a  dream,  or  an  hallu- 
cination; that  their  exicitement  is  such  as  to  superin- 
duce unreal  visions.  Consequently  they  pasis  it  by  as  a 
■delirium  of  the  brain,  none  of  them  thinking  it  worth 
any  attention,  except  Peter  and  John,  who  decide  to 
give  it  immediate  investigation.  Consequently  they 
start  out  and  run  with  all  their  might ;  John,  being  the 
younger  by  twenty  years,  proving  the  swifter,  arriving 


The  Resurrectiotu  411 

first  at  the  sepulchre,  but'  his  courage  failing,  he  does 
not  go  in.     Bold  Peter,  rushing  on,  enters  in,  makes 
their  investigation,  comes  out  awfully  bewildered,  be- 
cause thc}^  have  npt  yet  received  light  to  understand  the 
resurrection.    So  they  both  return  again  to  the  disciples. 
But  the  women,  having  delivered  their  message,  dart 
back  to  the  sepulchre  with  all  speed.     On  arrival  they 
behold  two  angels  in  white  sitting,  the  one  at  the  head, 
the  other  at  the  foot  of  the  sepulchre.    And  they  say  to 
Mary,  who  is  standing  at  the  sepulchre  weeding,  '"AYo- 
man,  why  do  you  weep  ?"     She  says  to  them,  "Because 
they  have  tak'en  away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where 
they  have  placed  Him."     And  speaking  these  things, 
she  turns  back  and  sees  Jesus  standing  and  did  not 
know  that  He  was  Jesus.     And  Jesus  says  to  her,  "Wo- 
man, why  do  you  weep?     Whom  do  you  seek?"     And 
she,   thinking  that  He  is  the  gardener,   says  to  him, 
"Lord,  if  you  have  taken  Him  away,  tell  me  where  you 
have  put  Him,  and  I  will  take  Him."    And  Jesus  says 
to  her,  "Mary !"   She,  turning,  says  to  Him,  "Kabboni  I" 
(which  is,  My  teacher !)     And  Jesus  says  to  her,  "Touch 
me  not,  for  I  have  not 'ascended  to  my  Father:    but  go 
to  my  brethren  and  say  to  them,  I  go  up  to  my  Father, 
and  your  Father;    to  my  G-od  and  your  God."     Mary 
Magdalene  goes,  announcing  to  the  disciples  that  sTie 
has  seen  the  Lord  and  He  has  told  her  these  things. 

John  20:11-18.  On  the  second  visit  of  the  women 
'to  the  sepulchre,  the  two  angels  appear  to  them  and 
certify  that  He  is  risen.  Meanwhile  those  women  are  in 
a  tornado  of  excitement,  passing  through  a  volcanie  rev- 
olution, hardly  knowing  whether  to  weep  for  grief  or 
joy.    The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  it  seems  to  them  that' 


412  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

the  news  is  too  good  to  be  true,  for  tliey,  with,  all  the 
balance,  have  'been  fixed  and  settled  in  the  conviction 
that  Christ,  w'hen  He  conies,  will  be  King  of  the  Jews 
and  reign  forever,  invulnerable  and  imnifortal.  There- 
fore, when  they  saw  Him  killed,  they  gave  up  ^all  hope 
of  His  Christhood,  relegating  Him  to  the  prophetic 
rank.  Oh !  it  seems  like  turning  the  sun  in  his  course, 
to  convince  them  that  He  is  actually  risen  fror.i^  the 
dead,  for  they  had  hitherto  received  no  light  on  the 
prophecies  'appertaindng  to  His  resurrection. 

Now,  they  see  that  man,  whom  they  suppose  to  be 
the  gardener,  and  make  in-quiry  about  the  body  that  Is 
missing  from  the  sepulchre,  and  behold !  a  light  flashes 
on  them,  and  they  see  that  the  Man  with  whom  they 
are  conversing  is  none  other  than  Jesus  himself.  With 
transporting  enthusiasm  they  fall  at  His  feet  in  the  at- 
titude of  worship;  He  responds  to  them,  "Tarry  not 
with  me"  (because  I  have  delivered  you  a  most  import^ 
ant  message  to 'deliver) ;  "go  speedily  and  tell  them  that 
I  am  risen,  for  I  have  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father." 
They  supposed  that  He  had  been  up  in  heaven,  and 
had  simply  dropped  down  a  moment,  like  an  angel,  then 
to  be  gone  forever ;  hence,  they  thought  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  opportunity  to  worship  Him  in  the  Orien- 
tal manner,  embracing  His  feet.  But  He  notifies  them 
that  He  is  not  yet  gone  up  to  heaven,  and  not  going 
for  some  time  (forty  cla}Ts),  they  would  have  much  op- 
portunity to  be  with  Him  before  His  final  ascension. 

Matt.  28  :11-15.  Here  we  find  that  the  Eoman  sol- 
diers came  into  the  city  and  announced  to  the  chief 
priests  those  wonderful  things  which  were  taking  place 
— actually  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.    But  they  bribed 


The  Resurrection.  413 

them  with  money  to  report  that  His  disciples  came  and 
stole  Him  away  wliile  they  slept,  the  hierarchy  promis- 
ing to  stand  between  them  and  all  danger.  How  glar- 
ingly inconsistent,  as  it  was  a  well-known  fact  tliat  it 
was  a  penalty  of  death  for  a  Eoman  soldier  to  go  to 
sleep  on  guard!  MatthevT  wrote  his  gospel  fifteen  yean? 
after  the  Lord's  ascension,  and  here  he  says  that  this  re- 
port was  currently  in  circulation  among  the  Jews  at 
that  time.  Thus  you  see  how  the  chief  priests,  by 
bribery  and  falsehood,  did  their  utmost  to  deceive  the 
people,  illustrating  the  indisputable  fact  that  tliey  arc 
actually  led  captive  by  Satan  at  his  will.  WTiat  an  ap- 
palling picture  of  the  leading  clergy,  claiming  to  be 
the  mouthpieces  of  God ! 

Luke  24 :13-35.  Here  we  find  Cleopas  and  his  disici- 
ple  this  same  day  (Sunday  afternoon)  walking  away  ro 
Emmaus,  seven  and  a  half  miles.  Jesus,  falling  in. 
journeys  with  them;  but  He  droj^s  on  them  an  optical 
illusion,  so  they  do  not  recognize  Him.  Meanwhile  they 
while  away  the  time  in  conversation,  the  all-absorbing 
events  in  reference  to  Himself  being  the  theme.  Thes^3 
disciples  relate  to  Him  how  the  chief  priests  and  rulers 
had  crucified  Jesus,  and  they  were  all  crushed  with  dis- 
appointment, because  they  had  been  indulging  the  hope 
that  He  was  the  One  destined  to  redeem  Israel.  Then 
they  proceed  to  state  to  their  unknown  companion,  that 
they  were  utterly  duml)founded  and  paralyzed  by  the 
testimony  of  some  of  their  women,  who  had  been  at  th(^ 
sepulchre  in  the  early  morning,  and  did  not  find  Hi« 
body;  but  they  saw  a  vision  of  angels,  who  said  He  was 
alive,  and  that  &ome  of  the  brethren  had  gone  to  the 
sepufohre  and  found  it  empty,  as  the  w^wnen  said ;  bu*- 


414  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

tJhey  did  not  see  Him.  Then  He  proceeds  at  once  and  r^ 
capitulates  the  prophecieB,  beginning  with  the  Penta- 
teuch and  coming  on  down  through  all  the  prophets, 
expounding  them  and  clearly  'Showing  up  the  great  sa- 
lienit  truth,  that  it  hehooveth  Christ  to  die  for  a  guiU)/ 
world  and  rise  again.  Allien  they  arrive  at  Emmaus. 
He  walks  on  till  they  constrain  Him  to  stop  and  abide 
with  them.  Then,  at  the  supper-table,  He  reveals  him- 
self to  them  in  breaking  the  'bread  and  dispensing  it. 
and  at  once  their  eyes  are  opened,  they  recognize  Him, 
and  He  vanishes  out  of  their  sight.  Such  is  the  flood 
of  light  and  joy  on  their  -souls  that  it  utterly  takes  awa}' 
their  appetite.  They  desist  at  once,  rise,  and  set  out  for 
Jerusalem  at  double-quick,  talking  as  they  go,  "Did  not 
OUT  hearts  burn  within  us  while  He  opened  unto  us  the 
Scriptures  V^  So,  when  tbey  get  back  to  Jerusalem,  they 
find  the  eleven  apostles  all  assembled  and  talking  over 
the  matter,  observing  that  He  had  not  only  appeared  to 
the  women  in  the  early  morning,  but  also  at  a  later 
hour,  to  Peter.  Then  these  two  give  their  testimony 
to  His  falling  in  and  journeying  with  them  along  th4> 
road.  Meanwhile,  behold!  He  stands  in  their  midst, 
and  says:  "Peace  be  unto  you."  Thus,  five  times  al- 
ready in  that  one  day  has  He  appeared  to  them.  Mean- 
while there  is  a  general  and  perplexing  agitation  among 
them,  thinking  that  they  see  a  spirit.  He  challenges 
them  to  come  and  see  His  hands  and  feet,  and  handle 
Him,  and  satisfy  themselves,  because  a  spirit  has  neither 
flesh  nor  bone,  as  they  see  He  has.  Meanwihile  He  has 
them  bring  Him  a  piece  of  baked  flsh  and  honey-oomb, 
•that  they  may  see  Him  eat.  You  see,  it  was  necessary 
for  Him  to  retain  His  material  body  after  His  resurrec- 


Tlie  Resurrection.  415 

tion,  in  order  to  His  identification.  You  see  fch^  need- 
ed every  facility  for  the  identification  of  His  per^son- 
ality.  His  glorified  person,  seen  by  James  and  John  on 
the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  was  really  the  facsimile 
of  His  ultimate  glorification,  which  was  postponed  till 
the  disciples  had  ample  opportunities  to  settle  the  ques- 
tion of  His  identity  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt. 

V.  45.  "Then  He  opened  their  mind,  that  they 
might  understand  the  Scriptures."  So  He  does  this 
day  graciously  and  wonderfully  open  the  minds  of  His 
saints  to  see  the  deep  things  revealed'  in  His  precious 
Word. 

V.  46.  "And  He  said  to  them.  Because,  as  it  has 
heen  written,  it  behooves  Christ  to  suffer  and  rise  from 
the  dead  on  the  third  day,  and  that  repentance  unto  the 
remission  of  sins  shall  be  preached  to  all  the  G-entiles, 
beginning  from  Jerusalem."  Here  we  have  the  beautiful 
commission  of  Luke,  promising  remission  of  sin  to  all, 
on  the  isolated  condition  of  repentance.  A  genuine  re- 
pentance always  superinduces  justifying  faith.  "And 
you  are  witnesses  of  these  things.  And  behold  I  send 
upon  you  the  promise  of  the  Father;  and  you  abide 
in  the  city  of  Jerusalem  until  you  may  be  endued  witli 
dynamite  from  on  high."  The  Father  sent  His  Son  into 
the  world  to  redeem  it  from  sin,  death  and  hell;  then 
follows  the  di^ensation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  convict  all 
sinners,  regenerate  'the  penitent  and  sanctify  the  believ- 
ers. All  tliis  is  promised  in  the  Abrahamic  covenant 
(Luke  1:72-79).  Here  you  find  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  promised  to  Abraham  and  his  seed;  i.  e.,  all  hh^ 
spiritual  children,  in  the  covenant  of  redemption,  which 
God  made  with  Christ,  and  ratified  with  Abraham,  to 


416  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

sanctify  him  and  his  innumerable  spiritual  family,  so 
as  to  enable  them  '%  serve  Him  in  holiness  and  right- 
eousness all  our  days/'  You  see  here  that  our  Savior 
actually  forbade  His  own  disciples  to  go  and  preach  the 
gospel  under  the  glorious  full  salvation  dispensation  oi 
the  Holy  Ghost,  till  they  were  all  endued  with  the  heav- 
enly dynamite,  to  qualify  them  for  the  greatest  and 
most  responsible  work  ever  delegated  to  man  or  angel. 
The  sad  mistake  of  tlie  Church  has  been  the  post- 
apostolical  departure  from  this  primary  precept,  deliv- 
ered by  our  Savior.  We  mu&t  receive  the  Holy  Ghost 
before  we  are  qualified  to  preach  the  gospel.  Oh,  how 
true,  that  talents  and  opportunities  are  was'ted  becausa 
we  do  not  all  obey  this  commandment  to  tarry  till  we  re- 
ceive the  end'uement  of  the  Holy  Gho^t!  The  gospel 
economy  is  characterized  by  three  verbs:  Come,  tarry, 
go.  We  first  come  to  Jesus  and  get  saved;  then  we 
tarry  till  the  Father  fills  us  with  the  Holy  Ghost ;  then 
we  are  prepared  to  obey  the  commission,  "Go,  preach.'' 
John  20:22.  "And  saying  this,  He  breathed  en 
them  and  says  to  them.  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost: 
Vhosesoever  sins  you  may  remit,  are  remitted  unto 
them;  and  of  whosesoever  you  may  retain,  they  are  re- 
tained." The  apostles  had  all  relaxed  their  grip  on  the 
Christhood  of  Jesus,  dropping  Him  back  to  the  rant 
and  file  of  the  prophets,  so  they  needed  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  restore  them  into  the  clear  experience  of  the  kingdom 
of  grace,  which  they  had  preached  with  great  efficiency 
in  the  dispensation  of  Jesus.  To  what  extent  they  had 
really  lost  ground,  spiritually  and  experimentally,  dur- 
ing the  three  days  of  His  crucifixion  and  interment,  we 
arc  not  prepared  to  say.    Though  justification  and  re- 


The  Resurrection.  417 

generation  "were  preaclied  by  the  old  proplids,  evidently 
the  "Kingdom  of  Heaven/^  brought  into  the  world  by 
the  incarnate  Christ,  and  consisting  of  "righteousness, 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  G-ho&t"  (Rom.  14:17),  and 
destined  to  supersede  the  law  and  the  prophets,  was 
characterized  by  brighter  anc^  clearer  light,  a  deeper  and 
stronger  hold  on  spiritual  things,  and  a  vastly  more 
glorious  elevation  above  the  materialistic  phases  of  re- 
ligion than  the  former  dispensation.  The  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  Jesus  breathed  on  them  here,  was  in  the  capacity 
of  Restorer  and  Hluminator,  rather  than  Comforter,  as 
they  received  Him  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 

Verse  23  has  been  very  adroitly  subsidized  by  priest- 
craft in  the  fallen  churches,  and  by  Romanism,  especial- 
ly. It  is  ideTitical  with  the  key  power  (Matt.  16:18), 
simply  involving  the  wonderful  power  of  the  AYord,  to 
take  away  the  sins  from  truly  penitent  believing  souls, 
when  received  in  the  love  of  it ;  and  to  retain  the  sin.- 
of  the  impenitent  and  unbelieving  contemners  of  gospel 
grace  and  opportmiity.  Hence  the  preacher  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  actually  becomes  the  instrument  of  the 
Savior  in  the  salvation  of  all  who  will  let  Him,  and  in 
the  reprobation  of  those  who  contemptuously  reject  the 
message  of  redeeming  grace  and  dying  love. 

John  20:24-29.  It  so  happened  that  Thomas  was 
absent  on  the  night  of  our  Lord's  resurrection,  when  He 
appeared  in  their  midst,  so  gloriously  revealing  himself 
to  all.  Afterward,  when  they  met  him  and  told  him,  "We 
have  seen  the  Lord,''  he  said,  "Lailess  I  shall  put  my 
finger  in  the  prints  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hands 
in  His  side,  I  will  not  believe.''  So  when  He  appears 
to  them  again,  eight  days  afterward,  -which  w^as  the  fol- 


418  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

lowing  Sunday  nig-ht,  He  says  to  Thomas,  ^'Come  along, 
thrust  thy  finger  into  my  side,  and  be  not  faithless,  but 
believing";  and  he  shouts  out:  "0,  Lord,  my  God!'' 
Thomas  had  the  doubting  infirmity  till  he  got  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire  on  the  day  of  Penteco&t. 
After  that,  he  never  had  a  doubt;  they  were  all  con- 
sumed by  the  fires  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Eight  days  have  rolled  away  since  the  wonderful 
news  of  His  resurrection  first  rang  out  from  the  procla- 
mation of  the  angel  to  the  women.  In, the  meantime 
the  Lord  has  appeared  to  them  seven  times:  twice  to 
the  Mar}'s,  Salome  and  Joanna;  then  to  Peter;  then  to 
Cleopas  and  his  comrade  at  Emmaus ;  then  to  the  eleven 
assembled  in-  a  room  at  Jerusalem;  afterward,  on  the 
second  Sunday  night,  to  all  the  apostles,  when  He 
dissipated  the  doubts  of  Thoanas.  Immediately  after 
the  second  Sunday,  the  eleven  all  set  out  for  Galilee. 
Having  arrived  at  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes,  the  Lord 
seems  to  have  put  their  faith  to  a  slight  test,  by  a  short 
delay,  during  'w^hich  time,  Peter  leading  the  way,  they 
all  go  fishing  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  whose  billows  they 
had  plowed  from  their  childhood.  Having  toiled  all 
night  and  caught  nothing,  when  the  day  broadens  out 
over  the  deep,  they  look  and  see  a  man  standing  on  the 
shore,  but  do  not  recognize  him.  He  says  to  them: 
"Children,  have  you  any  meat?  They  responded  to 
Him  :  No.  And  He  said  to  them :  Cast  the  net  on  the 
right-hand  side  of  the  ship,  and  you  will  find.  Then 
they  continue  to  cast  it,  and  they  were  not  able  to  draw 
it  out  on  account  of  the  multitude  of  fishes.  Then  that 
disoiple  whom  Jesus  loved  says  to  Peter:  He  is  the 
Lord !    Then  Simon  Peter,  hearing  that  He  is  the  Lord, 


The  Besurrection.  410 

girded  on  Ms  fishing  cloak,  for  he  was  in  a  state  of  nu- 
dity, and  cast  himself  into  the  sea/^  John  evidently 
enjoyed  a  deeper  insight  into  spiritual  things  than  the 
rest  of  the  apostles.  Consequently  he  was  the  first  t-o 
recognize  the  Lord.  N'ow  Peter  in  his  enthusiasm,  pe- 
culiar to  -ilia  vivacity  of  spirit  and  celerity  of  mos^e- 
ment,  leaps  out,  swimming  till  he  reaches  water  shallow 
enough  to-  wade,  and  speedily  reaches  the  shore,  the 
others  coming  in  the  ship,  which  was  only  two  hundred 
cubits  (i.  e.,  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards)  distant,  draw 
the  net  ashore,  filled  with  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
three  large  fishes;  and  yet,  to  their  astonishment,  not 
broken.  On  arrival,  all  recognize  their  risen  Lord,  and 
see  the  fire  burning,  fish  and  bread  on  it,  cooked,  ready 
for  breakfast.  Jesus  himself  once  more  dispenses  their 
food  to  them. 

During  our  last  tour  in  1899,  the  guide  landed  us 
on  a  beautiful  gravel  shore  on  the  east  coast,  and  said 
that  was  the  place  where  the  above  history  transpired. 
It  is  certainly  plausible,  in  the  fact  that  fishermen  al- 
ways seek  a  nice  gravel  beach  on  which  to  draw  out  their 
nets. 

John  21  :l-24.  V.  15.  "Then  when  they  took  break- 
fast, Jesus  says  to  Simon  Peter,  the  son  of  Jonah,  lovest 
thou  me  with  divine  love,  more  than  these?  He  says  to 
Him,  Yea,  Lord;  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee  as  a 
friend.  He  says  to  him.  Feed  my  lambs.  He  says  to 
him  again  the  second  time,  Simon,  the  son  of  Jonah, 
lovest  thou  me  with  divine  love  ?  He  says  to  Him,  Yea, 
Lord ;  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee  as  a  friend.  He 
says  to  him,  Shepherd  my  sheep.  He  says  to  him  a  third 
time,  Simon,  the  son  of  Jonah,  Do  you  love  me  as  a 


3:20  Life  of  Jesus  mid  His  Apostles. 

friend  ?  Peter  was  gmeved  because  He  said  to  'him  tlie 
third  time^  Do  you  love  me  as  a  friend  ?  And  he  said  to 
Him,  Lord,  Thou  knowest  all  things;  Thou  knowest 
that  I  love  Thee  as  a  friend.  Jesus  says  to  him,  Feed 
my  S'heep/' 

AYe  have  here  in  this  wonderful  dialogue  of  Jesus 
and  Peter  a  grand,  fundamental  truth  forcibly  brought 
out.  There  are  two  great  words  in  the  Xew  Testament, 
which  are  translated  love  in  the  E.  V. — agapee — which 
means  divine  love — i.  e.,  cf  the  divine  nature  (1  John 
di.  4) — which  is  utterly  alien  to  fallen  humanity;  never 
felt  nor  known  till  the  Holy  Ghost  pours  it  out  into  the 
heart  in  regeneration  (Eom,  5:5).  The  other  word  is 
pli'dia  (human  love),  indigenous  in  all  people,  and  seen 
in  aniir.als.  It  is  the  love  of  consanguinity  and  friend- 
ship, and  is  destitute  of  any  element  of  the  divine  life. 
In  this  dialogue  Jesus  uses  agapee  in  the  fir^t  two  inter- 
rogations, while  Peter  uses  pliilia  throughout  the  entire 
dialogue.  This  word  simply  means  the  love  of  friend- 
ship, which  Peter  had  for  Jesus  in  an  exceedingly  prom- 
inent degree.  The  reason  why  the  third  question  grieved 
Peter,  was  because  Jesus,  dropping  His  word  agapee, 
took  Peter's  pliilia,  and  said,  "Xow,  Peter,  do  you  truly 
love  me  as  a  friend?''  He  thus  insinuatingly  reminds 
him  of  His  bad  treatment  when  He  was  on  trial  before 
the  high  priest.  The  question  which  Jesus  propounded 
was  quite  after  the  order  of  an  old-style  camp-meeting, 
in  which  the  leader  prol>e3  down  to  the  bottom  -of  the 
heart,  eliciting  candid  answers  in  reference  to  their  spir- 
itual state.  In  Peter's  case,  Jesus  asked  him  if  he  had 
Holy  Ghost  religion,  and  how  he  was  getting  along  in 
the  divine  life.    This  is  clearly  involved  in  the  question. 


The  Resurrection.  421 

"Do  you  love  me  with  divine  love,  moTe  than  these?" 
We  see  that  Peter  really  evaded  the  Savior's  question, 
by  simply  responding :  "I  love  Thee  as  a  friend/'  which 
no  one  would  call  in  question.  During  the  whole  dia- 
logue, Peter  held  on  to  this  word  with  which  he  set  out, 
which  simply  means  the  love  of  friendship ;  while  Jesus 
finally  drops  His  word,  which  means  the  love  of  God 
(i.  e.,  the  love  which  is  in  the  heart  of  God,  and  which 
is  in  no  human  heart  until  the  Holy  Ghost  pours  it  out), 
and  takes  Peter's  word,  which  means  only  the  love  of 
friendship,  and  tests  him  on  it.  This  test,  Peter  was  not 
only  willing  to  bear,  but  even  grieved  because  Jesu5 
turned  it  on  him ;  thus  indiredly,  and  very  justly,  im- 
peaching his  true  and  real  friencMiip,  and  flooding  him 
with  grief  over  the  sad  remembrance  of  his  thrice  denial. 
You  'observe  that  Jesus  here  charges  Peter  to  feed  Hi'^ 
lambs  (i.  e.,  young  converts),  and  the  sheep,  and  to  shep- 
herd them  all — i.  e.,  protect  them  from  Satan's  wolves, 
lead  them  into  green  pastures,  and  give  them  rest  by  the 
still  waters.  He  now  also  proceeds  to  predict  Peter'? 
martyrdom,  which  took  place  at  Eome,  under  the  reign 
of  bloody  Nero.  Vfhen  Pe'ter  now  asked  Him  a  word 
about  John,  who  was  standing  by,  he  responds,  "If  I 
may  wish  him  to  remain  until  I  come,  what  is  that  to 
thee?"  Thus  He  gives  rise  to  the  report  that  John 
would  never  die,  which  is  well  corroborated  by  Ireneus 
and  Justin  Martyr,  who  lived  and  wrote  in  the  second 
century,  certifies  that  John,  the  aj^ostle,  was  translated 
to  heaven. 

Matt.  28 :16.  "And  the  eleven  disciples  departed 
into  Galilee  into  the  mountain  where  Jesus  commanded 
them,  and  seeing  Him  they  worshipped  Him ;  and  soma 


4:22  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

doubted.  And  Jesus,  having  come  to  them,  spoke,  say- 
ing to  them,  "All  authority  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  upon  earth,  going  therefore,  disciple  all  the  Gen- 
tiles, baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teacthing  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things,  &o  many  as  I  commanded,  you;  and, 
behold,  I  am  with  you  aU  the  days  unto  the  end  of  the 
age." 

This  is  the  great  gospel  commission,  pursuant  to 
which  the  Lord^s  disciples  have  been  constantly  preach- 
ing ever  since.  The  E.  V.  has  ^^teach"  twice,  whereas 
it  only,  in  Greek,  occurs  once,  the  first  word  being 
matheusate,  which  means,  miake  disciples,  the  baptizing 
and  teaching  coming  oB'  afterward.  A  sinner  cannot 
possibly  be  a  disciple  of  Christ.  Christians  only  are  dis- 
ciples, hence  the  only  way  to  make  disciples  is  to  got 
sinners  truly  and  thoroughly  regenerated  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  bom  again,  and  adopted  into  the  family 
of  God.  The  fallen  church  has  woefully  pervert^ 
ed  the  gospel  commission,  construing  it  that  we  make 
disciples  by  baptizing  sinners  and  teaching  them.  Wa- 
ter baptis'm,  which  is  here  meant,  is  the  Lord's  mark  on 
His  own  people,  \\hen  applied  to  sinners  it  is  illusory 
and  damaging  to  their  souls,  grievous  to  the  Holy  Spirit. 
By  this  perverted  view  of  the  commission,  tihe  churches 
have  been  filled  up  and  burdened  to  death  with  uncon- 
verted people,  w^ho  eventually  get  into  office,  come  to  the 
front  and  rule  the  church,  to  her  utter  ruin.  This  we 
have  seen  sadly  illustrated  in  Catholicism  during  the 
last  thousand  years,  and  now  see  making  alarming  in- 
roads into  the  Protestant  churches.  If  -we  follow  the 
commission  of  Jesus,  w^e  must  preach,  pray  and  work 


The  Resurrection.  423 

till  we  get  people  soundly  and  radically  converted  to 
Grod.  Then  they  are  ready  for  baptism  and  teaching. 
Our  Lord  here  assures  us  of  His  presence  with  us  to  the 
end  of  the  age.  Then  away  with  the  dogma  that  the 
age  of  miracles  is  passed,  when  the  Omnipotent  Miracle- 
worker  is  here,  down  to  the  end  of  the  gospel  age,  when 
He  will  return  in  His  glory.  While  living  on  the  earth, 
He  predicted  that  His  enemies  would  kill  Him,  but  He 
promised  to  send  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  they  cannot 
kill,  because  He  has  no  mortal  body.  The  Holy  Ghost 
ife  none  other  than  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  (Acts  5:4-9). 
Paul  informs  us  (1  Cor.  15:7)  that  our  Lord  also  ap- 
peared to  James.  Acts  1 :3.  "To  whom  also  He  pre- 
sented himself  alive  after  He  suffered,  by  many  testi- 
monials, being  seen  by  them  forty  days  and  speaking  the 
things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  having  as- 
sembled them,  He  commanded  them  not  to  depart  from 
Jerusalem,  but  to  await  the  promise  of  the  Father, 
which  you  heard  from  me:  that  John  indeed  baptized 
with  water,  but  you  shall  be  haptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  not  m-any  days  hence." 

Here  is  our  Lord's  clear  and  positive  promise  of  the 
baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  they  received  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  pursuant  to  the  promise  of  the  Father 
in  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  and  for  which  He  positive- 
ly commanded  them  to  wait  at  Jerusalem.  That  com- 
mand is  as  obligatory  on  their  successors  as  it  was  on 
them.  2  Tim.  11:2.  'These  things  commit  thou  to 
faithful  men,  who  shall  also  be  competent  to  teach  oth- 
ers." Here  w^e  have  the  real  apostolical  succession,  il- 
lustrating the  fact  that  provision  is  made  for  the  per- 


424  Life  of  Jcsus  and  His  Apostles. 

petuity  of  the  gosi^el,  witliout  addition  or  subtraction, 
to  the  end  of  time. 

V.  6.  "Then  they,  having  be'en  assemhled,  asked 
Him,  saying,  Lord,  do  you  at  this  time  restore  the  king- 
dom to  Israel  ?  And  He  said  ?fco  them.  It  is  not  of  you 
to  know  the  times  or  seasons,  which  the  Father  placed  iu 
His  own  authority/'  Here  is  no  insinuation  that  He  is 
not  going  to  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel,  which  He 
will  certainly  do  when  He  comes  in  His  glory^  estahlish- 
ing  the  millennial  theocracy  in  all  the  earth:  but  He 
simply  states  that  the  ages  and  epochs  are  administered 
by  the  Father. 

"But  you  shall  receive  power  (Gr.,  dynamite),  the 
Holy  G-host  having  eome  upon  you :  and  you  shall  be 
■witnesses  to  me  in  Jerusalem  and  all  Judea,  and  Sa- 
maria, and  to  the  extremity  of  the  earth.'' 

The  E.  V.  translates  this  beautiful  and  invaluable 
passage  very  badly :  "You  shall  receive  power  after  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  come  upon  you."  Tliis  involves  tlie 
idea  that  the  power  is  septirate  and  distinct  from  the 
Holy  Ghost,  running  people  into  the  fanaticism  of  seek- 
ing the  power  instead  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  wIto,  in  the 
capacity  of  the  Omnijwtent  Executor  of  the  Trinity,  is 
really  the  only  power  on  the  earth,  the  personal  succes- 
sor of  the  ascended  Savior.  When  you  receive  the  Holy 
Ghost,  you  receive  this  power,  which  gives  you  victory 
over  the  w^dd,  the  flesh  and  the  devil,  and,  as  you  here 
see,  makes  you  ai  witness  for  the  Lord,  and  His  power  to 
save  to  the  utmost,  in  all  places  and  under  all  circum- 
stances. 


CHAPTER    XYIII. 

ASCENSION    INTO    HEAVEN. 

Luke  2-i  :50-53.  ''He  led  them  out  even  unto  Beth- 
any, and  lifting  up  His  hands,  He  blessed  them.  And  it 
came  to  pass,  while  He  was  blessing  them.  He  parted 
from  them,  and  was  home  up  into  heaven.'' 

Acts  1 :9-12.  ''Speaking  these  things,  they  looking. 
He  was  carried  up;  and  a  cloud  received  Him  from 
their  eyes.  And  while  they  were  gazing  up  to  heaven, 
He  going,  behold  two  men  stood  by  them  in  white  ap- 
parel, who  also  said,  Ye  Galilean  men,  why  stand  ye 
gazing  up  into  heaven  ?  This  same  Jesus,  who  has  been 
taken  up  from  you  into  heaven,  will  30  come  in  the 
manner  in  w^hich  ye  saw  Him  going  into  heaven." 

You  see  here,  He  led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany, 
which  stands  on  the  southeastern  slopes  of  Mt.  Olivet. 
It  also  states  that  after  His  ascension,  the  disciples  re- 
turn from  Mt.  Olivet  to  Jerusalem.  If  you  ever  visit 
the  Holy  Land,  they  will  point  you  out  the  spot  on  the 
summit  and  tell  you,  There  the  fed:  of  Jesus  last  rested 
on  the  earth.  Yery  near  that  srpot  you  will  find  a  mag- 
nificent stone  tower  250  feet  high,  built  for  the  especial, 
accommodation  of  pilgrim's,  who  so  much  desire  to  fol- 
low their  IjotS.  just  as  far  as  possible.  During  both  of 
my  tours  I  ascended  that  tower  to  its  pinnacle,  from 
which  I  enjoyed  a  most  extensive  view  of  the  land, 
reaching  westward  to  the  great  sea ;  eastward  to  the  Jor- 
dan and  the  Dead  Sea;  northward  to  great  Mt.  Hermon, 

425 


426  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

far  away  in  Syria ;  and  southward  beyond  the  River  of 
Egypt,  till  vision  is  eclipsed  in  ether  blue;  Mt.  Pisgah. 
the  Land  of  Moab,  Mt.  Gilead  and  the  Great  East  being 
very  conspicuous.  Mt.  Olivet  is  the  highest  in  South 
Canaan.  So  when  its  altitude  is  augmen'ted  by  this  lofty 
tower,  you  feel  as  though  you  had  certainly  started  on 
your  Journey  in  pursuit  of  your  ascended  Lord.  Gazing 
up  the  shimmeTing  track,  as  I  opine,  still  luminous  with 
His  ascension  glory,  I  longed  for  my  pinions  of  flight, 
that  I  might  fly  away  and  join  Him  beyond  the  stars; 
so  I  must  confess  I  came  down  both  times  with  a  de- 
gree of  reluctance. 

You  see  here  how  cl^ar,  unmistakable  and  pacific  the 
inspired  affirmation,  that  the  same  identical  Jesus,  i.  e., 
the  glorified  Man  Jesus,  who  was  born  in  Bethlehem, 
rode  into  Jerusalem  on  the  donkey,  stood  before  Pilate, 
hung  on  the  cross,  lay  in  the  sepulchre,  and;  has  ascend- 
ed into  heaven,  will  certainly  come  again  in  like  man- 
ner; i.  e.,  encircled  with  white  clouds  and  accompanied 
by  angels.  What  in  all  the  Bible  is  more  clearly  re- 
vealed than  the  literal,  personal  return  of  Jesus  to  the 
earth.  "His  feet  shall  stand  again  on  Mt.  Olivet"  (Zech. 
14:4).  There  is  no  lack  of  harmony  in  the  statement 
that  He  went  up  from  Bethany,  which  is  not  on  the 
summit,  but  on  the  eastern  slope,  and  the  record  of  His 
ascension  from  Mt.  Olivet,  for  a  spur  of  the  mountain 
actually  juts  out  over  Bethany.  At  that  time  the  town 
was  so  much  larger  than  at  present,  I  doubt  not  that 
a  portion  of  it  was  built  on  that  spur. 

Acts  1 :12.  "And  they  returned  from  the  Mount 
called  Olivet,  w^hich  is  from  Jerusalem,  a  Sab- 
bathday's  journey."     Luke  24:52.     "And     worshiping 


Ascension  Into  Heaven.  427 

Him,  they  returned  into  Jerusalem  with  great  joy,  and 
were  constantly  in  the  temple,  praising  and  blessing 
God."  When  the  Lord  so  frequently  told  them  that  He 
was  going  away,  it  broke  their  hearts,  because  they  did 
not  have  sufficient  light  on  the  plan  of  salvation  to  look 
down  into  the  great  things  of  God  and  see  the  stupen- 
dous problem  of  redemption.  But  now  that  He  has 
risen  in  majesty,  power  and  victory,  and  ascended  to 
heaven  in  His  glory,  they  rejoice  and  praise  God  night 
and  day. 

John  20 :30.  ''And  many  other  miracles  Jesus  did 
in  the  presence  of  His  disciples,  which  have  not  been 
written  in  this  book;  but  these  have  becTi  wTitten  that 
you  may  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  and  that  he- 
lieving,  you  may  have  life  in  Him."  The  entire  problem 
of  salvation,  involving  life  and  immortality,  is  solved 
by  simple  faith  in  the  infallible  word  of  God.  Jesus 
came  from  heaven,  took  our  sins  upon  Him,  bled  and 
died  as  our  atoning  substitute,  satisfied  the  violated 
law,  triumphed  over  death,  hell  and  the  grave,  having 
achieved  a  complete  victor}^  for  every  guilty  soul;  actu- 
ally blockading  hell  with  His  ovm.  body,  bridging  the 
chasm,  between  earth  and  hell  with  His  great  and  glori- 
ous vicarious  atonement,  forever  sweeping  away  the  ne- 
cessity for  the  damnation  of  a  solitary  soul.  All  this 
we  receive  as  a  free,  gracious  and  unmerited  gift  by  sim- 
ple faith  in  Him. 

Eph.  4 :8.  "Therefore,"  He  says,  'liaving  ascended 
upon  high.  He  led  captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto 
the  people.  And  what  is  it  that  He  descended  first  into 
the  lower  parts  of  the  earth.  He  that  descended  is  He 
that  also  ascended  above  all  the  heavens,  in  order  that 


4:28  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

He  may  fill  all  thing's."  You  remeni'ber,  the  sixth,  chap- 
ter of  this  book  expounds  quite  a  multiplicity  of  scrip- 
tures setting  fbrth  the  descension  of  the  human  soul  of 
Jesus  into  Hades,  visiting  hell  and  proclaiming  His  Cal- 
vary victory  'Over  the  devil  and  all  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness; then,  crossing  the  intervening  ohasm  (Luke  16: 
26),  He  enters  the  0.  T.  Paradise  (Abraham's  bosom), 
where,  pursuant  to  His  promise  on  the  cross.  He  meets 
the  penitent  thief  and  all  the  mig^hty  host  of  0.  T. 
saints,  who  have  gathered  thither  since  the  days  of  Abel; 
spends  the  Sabbath  with  them.  With  the  incoming  new 
week.  He  abolishes  that  Intermediate  Paradise,  and  leads 
them  up  with  Him,  a  glorious,  triumphant  captive  host, 
all  having  been  rescued,  by  His  omnipoten't  arm,  from 
the  devil.  He  reaches  the  sepulchre  with  the  first 
rising  gleam  of  the  Orient,  receives  His  body,  meets 
the  disciples  on  eig'ht  different  occasions,  finishing  up 
the  grand  curriculum  which  He  began  three  years  pre- 
viously, and  ascended  from  Mt.  Olivet  into  heaven. 

Take  note  that  "He  was  the  first  fruits  of  them  that 
slept."  Others  had  been  raised  from  the  dead,  but  hav- 
ing received  their  glorified  bodies,  they  consequently  died 
ag-ain.  So  he  must  lead  the  way  into  the  glorified  home 
of  the  Father  and  the  unfallen  angels,  which.  He  evacu- 
ated when  He  came  down  to  suffer  and  to  die  for  us 
guilty  millions.  IST.  B.  None  of  these  0.  T.  saints  had 
their  resurrected  bbdies.  Enoch,  Elijah  and  Moses,  hav- 
ing gone  to  heaven  with  their  glorified  bodies,  of  coune 
were  not  along  with  this  vast  sacramental  host,  who  had 
remained  in  Abraham's  bosom  till  the  covenant,  which 
gives  honor  to  Abraham's  name,  was  sealed  by  the  blood 
of  Christ.     Therefore,  this  mighty  host  of  disembodied 


Ascension  Into  Heaven.  429 

saints,  whom  Jesus  led  with  Him  in  ascension  from  the 
0.  T.  Paradise,  remain  with  Him  on  the  earth  during 
the  forty  days  which  elapsed  from  His  resurrection  to 
His  ascension. 

We  feel  surprised  that  we  hear  so  little  mention  m'ade 
of  His  presence  with  His  disciples  during  these  forty 
days.  Only  eight  times  do  we  hear  of  His-  meeting 
them  and  no  allusion  to  His  spending  the  night  with 
them.  Our  bewilderment  over  this  problem  is  somewhat 
relieved  when  we  consider  the  presence  of  this  innumer- 
able host  with  Him,  all  getting  ready  for  their  flight 
into  heaven.  They  were  invisible,  from  the  simple  fact 
that  they  were  disembodied.  He  alone  being  visible,  be- 
cause He  had  His  body.  But  I  trow  they  are  all  around 
Him,  a  glorified,  shining  host  of  blood-'washed  spirits, 
when  He  ascends  from  Mt.  Olivet. 

As  they  winged  their  flight  through  the  void  im- 
mense, passing  rolling  worlds,  wheeling  S'pheres,  flam- 
ing comets,  gloi^-ing  suns,  sweeping  through  glittering 
constellations,  the  gorgeous  glory  of  the  Celestial  Me- 
tropolis must  now  have  burst  upon  their  enraptured  vis- 
ion. The  prophetic  eye  of  David  (Ps.  24)  catches  a 
view  of  this  triumphant  scene,  and  he  raises  the  roaring 
shout:  "Lift  up  your  heads,  0'  ye  gates;  and  be  ye 
lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors;  and  let  the  King  of 
glory  come  in."'^  Then  the  response  is  shouted  back 
from  the  mighty  angels,  the  honored,  custodians  of  the 
Pearly  Gates:  '^Wh-o  is  this  King  of  Glory  ?  The  Lord, 
mighty  to  save,  and  strong  to  deliver."  Behold,  the 
gates  Sfwing  wide,  and  lift  high,  w'hile  millions  of  voices 
roar:  ^^eleome  home.  King  of  Glory!"  The  Con- 
queror of   Mt.  Calvary  enters   trium'pha.ntly  the  wide 


^30  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

«peii  portals,  with  Abraham  on  His  right  and  Job  on 
His  left,  and  the  shining  platoon  of  patriarchs  and 
prophets  all  sweeping  into  the  Xew  Jerusalem,  washed 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Meanwhile  the  siacramental 
millions  of  0.  T.  saints,  innumerable  as  the  sands  upon 
the  seashore,  and  the  stars  that  twinkle  in  the  firma- 
ment, beat  their  march  in  solid  columns  over  the  heav- 
enly threshold  into  the  Xew  Jerusalem  amid  the  saluta- 
tions of  countless  billions  and  multiplied  trillions  of  un- 
fallen  angels  from  millions  of  worlds  never  darkened  hy 
sin.  These  have  gathered  thither  to  witness  and  enjoy 
the  grandest  ovation  in  the  history  of  the  universe.  It 
is  the  Son  of  God  returning  in  triumph  from  the  battle- 
fields of  earth,  where  He  has  vanquished  sin,  death  and 
hell,  and  returns  accompanied  b}'  the  blood-washed  mil- 
lions whom  He  has  rescued  from  the  devil,  and  who  now 
adorn  His  triumphant  entry  into  the  New  Jerusalem. 
All  heaven  is  vocal  with  the  shouts  of  triumph.  Now 
halting  before  the  effulgent  glory  of  His  Father's  throne, 
He  resiponds,  "Here  am  I  and  the  children  TIiou  hast 
given  me."  The  response  gladdens  the  listening  mil- 
lions: "Thou  hast  done  all  things  well;  sit  Thou  on 
my  right  hand  till  I  make  Thine  enemies  Thy  foot- 
stool." 

Now,  me  thinks,  the  door  is  opened  for  testimony. 
Father  Ahraham  mounts  the  heavenly  pinnacle  and 
tells  his  experience  of  conversion  (Gen.  xii,)  and  sanc- 
tification  (eh.  xv.).  Job  electrifies  all  by  his  thrilling 
rehearsal  of  the  Devil's  defeat,  the  discomfiture  of  the 
false  prophets,  and  the  glorious  vindication  of  the  Al- 
mighty. All  are  thrilled  by  Daniel's  recital  of  the  night 
he  spent  in  the  lion's  den,  sleeping  sweetly,  his  head 


Ascension  Into  Heaven.  431 

pillowed  on  their  sliagg}^  mane,  while  angel  pinions  faa 
his  brow,  and  charm  to  silence  all  the  lions  by  their 
sw^eet  lullabies.  Shadrack,  Meshach,  and  Abedoiego  hold 
th^  millions  spellbound,  telling  about  the  night  they 
spent  in  fiery  furnace  with  the  Form  of  the  Fourth 
present  with  them.  Isaiah  thrills  all  by  his  testimony 
to  God's  w^onderful,  sustaining  grace,  while  they  cut 
him  in  twain  with  a  cruel  saw.  The  angels  seem  to  nev- 
er tire  listening  to  the  testimonies  of  these  blood- 
washed  saints.  Since  the  sons  of  God  all  shouted  for 
joy  at  creation's  birth,  and-answ^ered  the  anthems  of  the 
morning  sitars,  which  sang  together  as  they  contem- 
plated the  stupendous  glory,  when  worlds  from  shape- 
less chaos  rolled  out,  responsive  to  the  omnific  mandate, 
and  took  their  places  in  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  there 
to  shine  and  shout  forever.  Never  has  Heaven  known 
an  ovation  comparable  to  this;  and  never  wall  it,  till 
the  Lord  returns  from  His  second  advent,  accompanied 
by  His  Bridie  in  h-er  transfigured  glory. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  APOSTLES. 

John  the  Baptist^  though  not  nominally  an  apostle, 
but  a  prophet,  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  old  dispen- 
sation, yet  deserves  comradeship  with  the  apostles  of 
our  Lord,  as  he  was  the  intermediate  link,  connecting 
the  dispensations  in  an  unbroken  chain  of  truth,  right- 
eousness and  holiness.    Apostle  is  from  apo,  "from"  and 
stello  "to  send."     Henc-e  he  is  one  sent  of  God„  com- 
missioned from  Heaven,  to  proclaim  the  way  of  salva- 
tion.    John  was  sent  as  a  messenger  (Mai.  3:1)  before 
the  face  of  Christ,  to  prepare  the  wa}' — ^to  get  the  peo- 
ple ready  to  receive  Him — and  was  actually  honored 
with  the  inauguratory  ceremony,  introducing  Him  into 
His  ofhcial  Messiahship.     The  province  of  all  the  apos- 
tles and  their  successors  was  to  preach  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven  in  contradistinction  to  the  law  and  the  prophets. 
This,  John  the  Baptist  did  with  all  his  might,  crying 
aloud  r  "Eepent  ye,  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at 
hand."     John  combined  the  austerities  of  the  law,  so 
conducive  to  genuine  repentance,  and  the  graces  of  the 
gospel,  which  give  us  victory  over  sin,  death,  the  world 
and  Satan.     John  was  really  a  model  preacher  in  ev- 
ery respect.     How  we  need   a  million  like  him  now, 
who  could  board  and  clothe  themselves  on  $250  a  year ! 
Oh,  how  we  would  sweep  the  world  with  a  cyclone  of 
gospel  fire! 

It  is  folly  to  say  that  John  did  not  eat  the  animal 

432 


The  Apostles.  433 

locust;  as  the  Greek  is  unmistakable,  enforcing  tliat 
conclusion,  which,  is  also  corroborated  by  the  fact  that 
Bedouins,  who  roam  all  over  the  wilderness  of  Judea 
to  this  day,  gather  great  camel-loads  of  the  locusts,  car- 
ry them  to  their  villages,  and  devour  them  as  a  lux- 
ury. They  are  still  there.  I  saw  them  in  vast  quanti- 
ties, nothing  to  do  but  gather  them  up  from  the  ground, 
where  they  lie  in  piles. 

John  was  a  man  of  inflexible  heroism;  too  true  to 
be  bought,  and  too  brave  to  be  intimidiated.  He  faced 
tbe  proud  hierarchy,  and  called  them  a  generation  of 
vipers,  positively  refusing  to  baptize  them  because  they 
did  not  exhibit  the  fruits  of  true  humiliation  and  godly 
sorrow  for  sin.  He  exposed  the  adulterous  marriage  of 
the  King  and  Queen,  insulting  them  so  grossly  that 
they  cut  his  head  off  at  Herod's  house  in  Macherus, 
on  the  east  coast  of  the  Dead  Sea,  in  the  Land  of  Moab, 
w^here  his  heroic  dust  now  awaits  the  first  resurrection. 
Multitudes  of  modern  metropolitan  preachers  would 
lose  their  eeclesiastical  heads  as  quickly  as  John  lost 
his  physical  one  if  they  would  dare  to  expose  the  adul- 
tery and  other  damning  sins  of  their  hearers.  John  the 
Baptist  is  reall}-  a  model  preacher  for  every  age. 

Peter^  whose  name  was  Simon,  till  Jesus  met  him, 
and  looking  down  into  the  deep  interior  of  his  heart 
saw  the  solid  rock,  and  consequently  called  him  Peter; 
which  is  a  Greek  word  meaning  stone;  while  the  He- 
brew word,  Cephas  has  the  same  meaning.  The  world 
never  saw  the  rock  in  Peter  till  after  the  fires  of  Pento- 
co5?t  consumed  the  debris,  and  revealed  the  inflexible 
rock.  Peter  was  quite  vacillating.  You  see  how  he  dis- 
graced himself  in  Gethsemane  and  the  Judgment  Hall. 


434  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

But  after  the  fiery  baptism  oame  on  him  at  Pentecost  he 
was  never  known  to  flicker,  save  where  he  dissembled 
at  Antioch,  when  the  Jews  came  from  Jerusalem  (Gal. 
2  :11,  12) .  He  lived  a  hero  and  died  a  martyr.  He  was 
a  native  of  Bethsaida,  which  stood  on  the  N.  W.  coast  of 
the  G^alilean  Sea.  He  and  his  brother  Andrew,  were 
the  sons  of  Jonas.  Beter  vras  the  oldest  of  all  the 
apostles,  being  a  married  man  of  perhaps  forty  years, 
and  living  in  Capernaum,  when  our  Savior  entered  upon 
His  ministry.  He,  with  others'  called  to  the  apostleship, 
was  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist.  He,  with  James 
and  John,  seems  to  have  enjoyed  a  deeper  insight  irto 
spiritual  things  than  their  comrades.  Consequently, 
they  were  honored  above  the  other  nine;  e.  g.,  in  the 
resurrection  of  Jairus'  daughter  tliey  were  permitted  to 
accompany  Jesnis  along  with  the  father  and  mother; 
they  only  were  permitted  to  witness  the  glory  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration.  Jesus  also  separated  tliem 
from  their  companions  in  Gethsemane,  when  He  went 
to  pray.  Peter's  seniority,  doubtlesis,  along  with  his 
quick  discernment  and  sprightly  disposition,  gave  him 
pre-eminence  among  the  apostles.  In  the  final  distri- 
bution of  the  world,  pursuant  to  Matthew's  commis- 
sion, Peter  received  Italy,  with  its  popular  cities,  and 
among  them  great  Eome.  So  he  dates  his  writing  at 
Babylon,  which  was  at  that  time  applied  to  Eome,  which 
all  exponents  recognize  as  the  Babylon  of  prophecy. 

N.  B.  You  know  in  my  sketches  of  the  apostles  I 
am  largely  dependent  on  uninspird  history,  that  of 
Peter  being  no  exception.  When  I  was  in  Rome,  riding 
out  to  the  catacombs,  where  the  saints  made  themselves 
dens  in  the  ground  to  hide  from  their  enemies  during 


The  Apostles.  435 

the  martyr  ages,  I  glanced  my  eye  to  the  left  and  saw 
a  stone  church  edifice  sujoerscrihed,  Domine,  quo  is-ne — 
''Lord,  whither  goest  Thou?''     History  says  that  when 
Nero  had  proclaimed  his  hloody  edict  against  the  Chris- 
tians, pursuant  to     w'hic4i  they  had     already  beheaded 
Paul;  the  saints  prevailed  on  Peter  to  leave  the  city, 
that  they  might  not  have  to  give  up  both  of  the  great 
apostles  at  the  same  time.     Consequently  he  -vas  .'^^oing 
out  in  the  dead  of  night,  miaking  his  escape  along  the 
Appian  way;  when  suddenly  he  sees  Jesus  coming  to 
meet  him,  walking  swiftly.     Turning,  he  salutes  Him : 
"Lord,  w^hither  goest  Thou  ?"    He  responds,  "I   im  go- 
ing to  Eome  to  be  crucified  again,  and  thU  moment 
vanishes  out  of  his  sight.     Peter  takes  the  hint,  con- 
cludes that  it  means  for  him  to  be  crucified  at  Eome. 
Therefore  he  turns  back,  and  abides  his  destiny.    They 
crucified  him  on  the  Campus  Marcius,  with  his  head 
down  at  his  own     request,     alleging  that    he  was  not 
worthy  to  be  crucified  in  the  same  posture  in  which  his 
Lord  was,  seeing  he  had  once  denied  Him.    It  is  claimed 
that  St.  Peter's     Cathedral,  which     cost     two  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  and  took  two  hundred  years  to  build 
is  835  feet  long,  330  feet  wide,  and  4^8  feet  high;  occu- 
pies the  identical  spot  on  which  he  was  crucified.    I  saw 
the  gold  coffin,  said  to  contain  his  remains.    The  Prot- 
estant churches  generally  discredit  the  history  of  Pe- 
ter^s  ministry  and  martjT^dom  at  Eome.     I  trow  it  is 
done  simply  in  order  to  refute  the  papistical  allegory  of 
founding  the  church  on  Peter,  which  is  an  erroneous 
interpretation  of  Matt.  16  :18.     In  order  to  make  good 
this  hypothesis,  they  recognize  Peter  as  the  first  Pope. 
I  saw  in  St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  the  statuary  of  all  the 


436  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

two  hundred  and  eiglity-eiglit  popes,  in  consecutive  or- 
der from  Peter  down  to  Leo  XIII.,  the  present  incum- 
bent; thus  exhihiting  Peter  as  the  first  Pope.  Matt. 
16 :18  stands  in  capital  letters,  written  in  the  Ladn 
language  on  the  lofty  interior  corridors  of  St.  Peter's 
Cathedral,  at  least  three  hundred  feet  above  the  marble 
floor,  yet  conspieuous  for  all  to  read :  "Thou  art  Peter, 
and  on  this  roek  will  I  build' my  church;  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  I  will  give  unto  thee 
the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  Heaven.^' 
This  is  the  pillar  of  the  Roman;  Catholic  church,  with 
all  her  boasted  and  arrogant  assumptions,  alleging 
that  the  church  was  built  on  Peter,  and  that  Jesus  gave 
him  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven ;  and.  that  Peter 
was  the  first  Pope,  transmitting  the  church  and  the  key 
power  to  his  successors  indefinitely.  You  will  see  in 
my  commentary,  vol.  6,  that  this  is  all  an  erroneous  in- 
terpretation;  the  Greek  simply  means  that  the  church 
was  built  on  the  Christhood  of  Jesus,  while  the  Word 
which  He  transmitted  to  Peter,  all  the  apostles  and 
their  successors,  is  the  key.  As  to  the  papistical  dogma, 
claiming  that  Peter  w^as  the  first  Pope,  it  is  utterly 
groundless,  as  there  n-ever  was  a  Pope  until  the  seventh 
cntury,  when.  Procas,  King  of  Italy,  crowned  Boniface 
III  supreme  pontiBcate  of  all  the  churches;  thus  inau- 
gurating the  papacy.  Therefore,  it  is  an  utter  super- 
fluity for  the  Protestants'  to  deny  the  ministry  and  mar- 
tyrdom of  Peter  at  Pome,  in  order  to  upset  the  papacy. 
The  inspired  record  dating  his  writings  at  Babylon, 
which  at  that  time,  and  in  all  subsequent  ages,  has  been 
applied  to  Eome,  is  abundantly  tenable;    especially  in 


The  Apostles.  437 

view  of  the  fact  that  we  have  no  account  of  his  or  any 
other  apostle's  ever  preaching  at  old  Bahylon,  which  had 
long  heen  in  utter  ruin,  and  without  an  inhabitant,  as 
it  is  at  this  day. 

Paul,  in  Greek,  means  the  little  one,  a  slight  modi- 
fi<?ation  of  Saul,  his-  birthname,  which  means  grand,  and 
well  applied  to  him  in  his  ecclesiastical  pomp  and  pag- 
century,  when  Procas,  King  of  Italy,  crowned  Boniface 
Adam  the  first  was  slain,  in  his  notable  Arabian  expe- 
rience (Gal.  1  and  Eom.  8) ;  as  entire  sanctification 
makes  us  all  little,  even  so  small,  that  th«  devil  can 
never  find  us,  unless  we  again  imbibe  depravity,  get 
self-important,  and  begin  to  swell. 

On  my  last  return  voyage  I  visited  Cilicia,  Paul's 
mtive  land,  where  he  was  bom  in  the  city  of  Tarsus, 
which  had  been  enfranchised  by  the  Emperors,  so  that 
Paul  was  born  a  free  citizen  of  the  Eoman  empire.    A 
gigantic  intellectualist,  Paul  received  a  splendid  educa- 
tion in  the  Greek  colleges  of  Tarsus,  and  afterward  took 
a  thorough  course  in  the  Hebrew  schools  of  Jerusalem, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  great  Rabbi,  Gamaliel.   His 
extraordinary  intellect,  and  finished  education,  opened 
the  door  to  the  highest  ecclesiastical  position  and  influ- 
ence, giving  him  prominence  in  the  Sanhedrim.   Hence 
his  conspicuous  leadership     in  the  persecution  of     the 
Christians,  martyrdom  of  Stephen  and  others.     In  his 
enthusiasm  he  is  not  content  to  drive  heresy  out  of  his 
own  countr^^  but    secures     authority  from    the     chief 
priests  to  exterminate  it  in  Damascus,  the  capital  of 
Syria,  which  was  -the  oldest  city  in  the  world,  having 
been  founded  by  Shem,  the  son  of  Xoah.     I  stood  on 
the  spot  two  years  ago,  where  the  Lord  shone  down 


438  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

from  Heaven,  with  a  brilliancy  eclipsing  tlie  splend^  < 
of  the  noonday  sain,  revealing  Jesus  to  the  persecutor. 
I  visited  the  house  of  Judas  in  Damascus,  where,  under 
the  ministry  of  Ananias,  he  was  gloriousJy  converted, 
three  days  after  he  saw  Jesus  on  the  way,  and  heard 
His  voice.  I  saw  the  place  in  the  east  wall  of  the  city, 
where  the  saintsi  at  midnight  let  him  do'wn  in  a  basket, 
andi  thus  saved  his  life.  Under  a  powerful  conviction 
of  indwelling  sin  after  his  conversion  in  Damascus,  he 
sought  three  years  in-  Arabia  and  got  wonderfully  sanc- 
tified. Eom.  7  :24  and  Gal.  1 :15.  The  Lord  afterward 
appeared  to  him  in.  the  Tempile  at  Jerusalem  and  called 
him^  to  the  apostleship  of  the  Gentiles. 

About  A.  D.  40,  he  and  Barnabas  were  sent  by  the 
church  at  Antioch,  on-  the  first  missionary  tour  of  the 
go/spel  age.  Soon  afterward'  accompanied  by  Silas,  Tim- 
otliy  and  Luke,  pursuant  to  a  night  vision,  he  crossed 
the  Aegean  Sea  and  preached  the  gospel  in  the  princi- 
pal cities  of  Greece.  Thus  he  unfurled  the  bloodrstain- 
ed  banner  to  the'  nations  of  Europe,  from  which  Ameri- 
ca was  settled;  making  us  in  a  sense  the  spiritual  chil- 
dren of  the  apostle  Paul.  In  A.  D.  58,  he  was  arrested 
in  Jerusalem ;  held*  a  prisoner  in  C^esarea ;  carried  by 
the  Eomans  to  stand  before  the  Emperor;  having  been 
miraculously  delivered  from  a  terrible  storm  on  the 
sea,  which,  after  a  fortnight,  wrecked  them  on  the  coast 
of  Ma'lita,  Here  he  was  miraculously  delivered  from 
the  venomous  serpent,  which,  they  told  me  when  I  was 
there  in  1895,  still  abounds  on  that  island. 

Feb.  61  A.  D.  He  arrives  in  Eome;  preaches  two 
years  in  his  own  hired  house,  which  is  now  a  Christian 
church  (I  was  in  it  two  years  ago).     After  the  death 


The  Apostles.  439 

of  Burrus,  his  imperial  friend  and  defender,  tliey  take 
him  out  of  his  hired  house  and  put  him  in  the  military 
barracks,  where  he  preaches  to  the  soldiers  and  many 
others.  Finally  he  stands  his  trial  before  Xero,  and 
is  liberated,  for  want  of  evidence,  as  none  of  the 
Jews  from  Jerusalem,  either  by  person  or  proxy,  saw 
-proper  to  appear  against  him.  Then  he  makes  another 
great  tour  through  Europe  and  Asia,  preaching  the 
gospel  to  all  the  churches,  till  the  famous  conflagration 
of  Eome,  which  swept  like  an  ocean  of  flame  for  six 
days  and  seven  nights,  and  was  believed  to  have  been 
caused  by  Xero,  the  Emperor ;  who  meanwhile  sat  upon 
a  lofty  tower,  singing,  to  the  accompaniment  of  his  vio^ 
lin,  "The  Destruction  of  Troy.''  Such  were  the  awful 
outbursts  of  indignation  againist  the  Emperor,  under 
the  suspicion  that  he  had  caused  the  conflagration,  that 
he  sought  to  vindicate  himself,  by  charging  the  awful 
crime  on  the  Christians,  issuing  the  bloody  edict,  whichj 
re-enaoted  by  his  OTCcessors,  kept  a  solid  river  of  blood 
flowing  and  volumes  of  martyr  fires  roaring  for  250 
years,  till  the  conversion  of  Constanitine.  Meanwhile  a 
hundred  milliorus  Off  martvTs  bledi  Though  Paul  was 
not  at  E'ome  at  this  time  of  the  conflagration,  as  a 
leader  of  the  Christians,  they  soon  arrested  him  at 
Nicopolis,  in  Northern  Greece,  carried  him  to  Eome, 
where  again  he  stood  before  Xero,  charged  of  leader- 
ship among  the  Christians,  who,  they  said,  burnt  Eome. 
I  have  frequently  stood  in  the  old  Judgment  Hall, 
where  Paul  and  Peter  stood  before  ISTero,  and  received 
their  sentences  of  condemnation,  to  be  incarcerated  in 
the  gloomy  old  Mamartine  Prison;  from  which  they 
were  led  out  to  executioji,     Peter  went  to  the  Cam- 


4-iO  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

pus  Marcius,  within  the  city,  for  crucifixion;  and  Paul, 
being  a  Eoman  citizen,  and  consequently  complimented 
with  the  more  honorable  death  of  decapitation,  is  led 
out  through  the  gate,  which  to  this  day  bears  his  name, 
to  a  spot  in  the  suburbs,  where  he  is  beheaded.  Tra- 
dition says  his  head  boundied  three  times,  a  spring  of 
living  water  leaped  up  at  each  spot  where  it  struck  the 
ground,  and  has'  been  flooring  ever  since.  I  saw  and 
drank  from  those  three  springs,  about  ten  feet  apart. 
Near  the  spot  has  been  built  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  con- 
structed exclusively  of  the  finest  marble,  all  transported 
from  Africa  at  the  cost  of  fiity-five  millions  of  dollars, 
and  fifty-five  years/'  labor. 

Matthew.  His  conversion  is  related  hy  himself, 
Luke,  and  John.  LTnlike  his  apostolic  comrades,  who, 
as  a  rule,  were  very  poor,  Matthew  was  rich,  being  a 
revenue  officer  in  the  Roman  government.  He  had 
plenty  of  money,  and  was  accumulating  rapidly,  when 
one  bright  day,  while  sitting  at  the  table  in  his  office,  the 
money  stacked  up  all  around  him,  Jesus  passes  by,  and 
calls  him-.  He  responds  in  the  affirmative,  only  waiting 
long  enough  to  make  a  great  feast,  to  which  he  invited 
his  unsaved  friends  and  comrades;  with  the  end  in  view 
that  he  might  bring  them  under  the  influence  of  Jesus, 
whom,  with  His  disciples,  he  invited  to  attend  and  share 
the  festival.  Matthew  had  doubtless  often  heard  Je- 
sus preach  on  the  streets,  (as  they  lived  in  the  same 
city,  Capernaum)  ;  the  Holy  Spirit  having  utilized  that 
preaching  in  the  performance  of  His  pre-venient  w^ork, 
getting  Matthew  ready  for  the  Master's  call.  His  con- 
version is  phenomenal  in  the  fact  that  he  suddenly  for- 
sook wealth,  honors,  and  everything  to  follow  Jesui*. 


The  Apostles.  -iil 

His  conversion  proved  genuine.  Xot withstanding  the 
sudden  transition  from  wealth  and  honor  to  poverty, 
toil  and  persecution,  he  never  "^^avered  an  iota.  He 
wrote  his  go&pel  in  Judea  for  the  Jews,  A.  D.  38,  but 
in  Greek,  from  which  it  was  soon  translated  into  He- 
brew, to  augment  its  usefulness  to  the  Jewish  Chris- 
tians. In  the  allotment  of  the  whole  world  to  the 
Twelve  Apostles,  pursuant  to  the  Lord^s  commission, 
(Matt.  28:19),  Matthew  received  Ethiopia,  a  great  and 
ancient  country  in  Central  Africa,  for  his  field  of  la- 
bor. He  nobly  responded,  accepted  the  situation,  trav- 
eling all  over  tlie  country  and  preaching  courageously, 
till  bloody  death  set  him  free,  and  he  went  shouting 
through  cruel  martyrdom  up  to  meet  his  Lord,  whom  he 
had  forsaken  all  to  follow  at  every  cost. 

Makk^  tlie  writer  of  the  gospel  wdiich  bears  his  name, 
was  not  one  of  the  original  Twelve.  During  the  minis- 
try of  our  Lord  he  was  but  a  youth  in  the  home  of  his 
mother  in  Jerusalem.  We  first  hear  of  him  as  a  junior 
preacher,  accompan3'ing  his  IJncle  Barnabas  and  Paul  on 
their  missionary  tours  from  Antioch,  over  to  Cyprus,  a 
large  island  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  the  native 
land  of  Barnabas;  then  hack  to  the  continent,  and  into 
Pamphylia,  where  he  deserted  them  and  returned  to 
Jerusalem.  Palestine  borders  on  Moab,  Ammon  and 
Idumea.  Great  Arabia  reaches  out  nearly  two  thousand 
miles  towards  sunrise,  with  her  vast,  sandy  d-eserts; 
roamed  over  by  the  Bedouins,  who  were  born  robbers, 
the  wild  sons  of  Ishmael  and  Esau;  in  reference  to 
whom  God  said,  "His  hand  shall  be  against  every-  man^s 
hand,  and  e\^ry  man's  hand  against  him.''  Therefore, 
the  robbers  have  always  been  troublesome  in  that  couc- 


442  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

try,  infesting  deserts  and  mountains.  They  are  these 
wild  bedouins,  Luke  10.  During  both  of  my  tours  in 
that  country,  I  kept  with  me  constantly  an  armed  drag- 
oman, 'and  besides,  in  the  most  dangerous  places  an 
armed  escort,  to  keep  the  robbers  off  me.  They  are 
terrible,  even  now;  not  very  apt  to  kill  you,  but  will 
take  away  everything  you  have,  leaving  you  not  a  stitch 
of  clothing.  At  that  time  the  mountains  between  the 
sea-shore  and  the  highlands  were  badly  infested  with 
robbers.  Therefore  the  critics  believe  the  robbers  got 
hold  of  Mark,  treated  him  severely,  the  effect  being  to 
scare  him  out  of  the  Lord's  work.  So  finding  a  home- 
ward-bound ship,  embarking,  he  made  his  escape.  For 
this  reason  Paul  refused  to  take  him  on  his  second  evan- 
gelistic tour,  having  quite  a  controversy  with  Barnabas, 
who  felt  anxious  to  hold  on  to  his  cousin  and  make 
something  out  of  him.  There  was  no  temper  in  this 
controversy,  the  Greek  plainly  revealing  that  it  was  a 
divine  intervention  to  separate  Paul  and  Barnabas,  as 
each  was  amply  competent  to  head  an  evangelistic  band, 
the  two  organizations  evidently  doing  much  more  good 
than  one. 

After  this  division,  Mark  accompanied  his  uncle, 
Barnabas,  for  an  unknown  length  of  time.  That  Paul 
had  the  very  kindest  brotherly  affection  for  Mark,  is 
abundantly  evinced  in  the  fact  that  he  afterward  wrote 
to  Timothy,  "Send  Mark  to  me;  he  will  be  useful  to 
me  in  the  ministry.''  In  the  distribution  of  the  world, 
pursuant  to  the  commission,  Mark  received  Egypt  for 
his  field  of  labor.  He  nobly  responded,  faithfully  pere- 
grinated the  land  of  Ham,  preaching  the  gospel  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven  till  bloody  martyr- 


The  Apostles.  44:3 

donr  set  him  free.  He  -was  put  to  deatli  in  Alexandria 
by  a  cruel  mo'b,  who  dragged  him  through  the  streets 
till  he  expired.  It  is  said  that  Mark  wrote  his  gospel 
in  Eome  for  the  Eomans,  dictated  by  Peter,  A.  D.  63. 

Luke  wais  not  one  of  the  original  twelve,  but  a  physi- 
cian, or  at  least  a  medical  student  in  Antioch,  during 
our  Lord's  ministr}^,  and  doubtless  converted  by  Paul 
and  Barnabas  during  the  year  they  spent  in  Antioch, 
about  seven  years  after  the  Lord's  ascension.  We  first 
hear  of  him,  Acts  16,  when  he  accompanied  Paul  on  his 
second  missionar}^  tour.  He  afterward  remained  with 
Paul,  serving  as  his  emanuensis  to  the  end  of  his  life, 
sta^-ing  with  him  during  his  long  imprisonments  in  Je- 
rusalem, Cgesarea  and  Eome,  till  he  laid  his  head  on 
Kero's  block.  During  the  violent  persecution,  Luke  was 
hanged  on  an  olive  tree  in  Greece. 

John  was,  like  so  many  of  his  apostolical  comrades, 
first  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist.  "When  he  saw  him 
point  out  Jesus  and  heard  him  say,  "Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,^^  unhesi- 
tatingly he  bade  adieu  to  the  eloquent  Baptist  and  fol- 
lowed Jesus,  honored  to  be  His  first  convert.  Immedi- 
ately he  goes  to  work,  recruiting  converts  for  Jesus.  His 
modesty  is  phenomenal,  and  is  manifest  in  the  fact  that 
he  never  does  call  his  own  name.  He  is  eminent  as  the 
Apostle  of  Lore,  always  sitting  next  to  Jesus,  his  spir- 
ituality evidently  deeper  and  more  seraphic  than  that 
of  any  other  apostle.  His  custodianship  of  the  Lord''s 
mother  disqualified  him  to  itinerate  so  extensively  and 
indiscriminately  as  his  comrades.  Ephesus,  the  great 
metropolis  of  Western  Asia,  became  his  pastorate,  where 
he  took  care  of  his  Lord's  mother  till  she  joined  Him 


444  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

in  glory.  During  his  jDeregrinations,  while  preaching 
in  Eome,  A.  D.  95,  Domitian,  the  Emperor,  had  him 
cast  into  a  caldron  of  boiling  oil,  from  which  being  mi- 
raculously delivered,  he  was  banished  to  the  lonely  sea- 
girt Isle  of  Patmos,  belonging  to  the  Grecian  Archi- 
pelago, in  the  Aegean  Sea.  Having  arrived  late  Sat- 
urd«ay  evening,  he  spent  the  whole  night  on  his  knees'  in 
prayer.  With  day  dawn,  the  glorified  Savior  came 
down  and  opened  all  heaven  to  him,  and  revealed  the 
wonderful  apocalyptic  vision,  which  we  have  recorded  in 
the  Book  of  Revelation.  He  was  at  least  ten  years 
younger  than  Jesus.  We  hear  of  nim  in  history  still 
alive  at  Ephesus,  when  101  years  old.  John  Wesley 
and  others,  e.  g.,  Irenaeus  and  Justin  Martyr,  Christian 
fathers,  who  wrote  in  the  s-econd  century,  believed  that 
he  was  translated  to  heaven  alive,  pursuant  to  our  Lord's 
words  in  John  21.  Why  have  we  no  record  of  his  trans- 
lation ?  Because  John  himself  was  the  last  writer,  hav- 
ing written  his  gospel,  epistles  and  prophecies  when 
about  one  hundred  years  old;  or,  I  trow,  dictated  them 
to  an  emanuensis.  Hence  you  see,  there  was  no  one  left 
to  record  his  translation  to  heaven,  which  must  have 
taken  place  as  late  as  A.  D.  110,  at  least.  John  was 
really  the  patriarch  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  surviving 
all  his  comrades  a  whole  generation,  thus  standing 
alone  thirty  to  fifty  years  after  his  apostolical  comrades 
have  gone  to  glory. 

James  the  Elder  was  an  elder  brother  of  John. 
These  two  were  the  sons  of  Zebedee  and  Salome.  They 
were  denominated  by  our  Lo-rd,  "Sons  of  Thunder,''  bo 
cause  they  had  voices  like  the  roaring  of  the  lion.  Along 
with  Peter,  they  were  honored  in  being  present  at  the 


The  Apostles.  445 

resurrection  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus  in  Capernaum; 
they  beheld  the  Lord's  glory  on  the  Mount  of  Trans- 
figuration, and'  were  separated  itom  their  companions 
to  accompany  their  Lord  in  His  prayer  and  agony  in 
Grethsemane;  thus  evidencing  -the  fact  of  their  deeper 
insight  into  spiritual  things.  James,  with  his  brother 
John,  sought  the  first  place  in  His  coming  Kingdom. 
He  got  it,  but  it  was  in  bloodty  martyrd^om,  being  the 
first  of  all  to  go  from  the  cruel  execution;  block  up  to 
join  the  Lord  in  glory,  at  a  very  early  day  in  apostolic 
history.  He  was  decapitated  with  a  sword,  by  order 
of  Herod  Agrippa,  about  A.  D.  43;  that  of  Paul  and 
Peter  at  Eome  taking  place  A.  D.  68. 

James  the  Less,  whose  mother  was  a  prominent  dis- 
ciple, the  "other  Mary,^^  who  accompanied  Mary  Mag- 
dalene to  the  sepulchre,  having  foU^ywed  Jesus  in  all 
His  peregrinations  in  Galilee  'and  Judea,  was  precip- 
itated from  a  pinnacle  of  the  Temple,  in  order  to  kill 
him.  Being  very  tenacious  of  life,  the}-  saw  he  was  still 
alive,  and  they  beat  him  to  death  with  a  fuller's  clu'b. 
History  is  quite  complicated  and  much  mystified  in  ref- 
erence to  the  Jameses.  The  Lord  had  four  brothers — • 
James,  Judas,  Simon  and  Joses.  It  is  believed  that 
James  and  Judas,  the  Lordfs  brothers,  both  became 
apostles.  We  have  positive  record  (John  7)  that  when 
our  Lord  had  been  preaching  two  and  a  hal<f  }^.ars.  Hie 
own  brothers  did  not  believe  on  Him.  This  seems  as- 
tonishinig.  But  do  you  not  know  that  di^tamce  lenjds 
enchantment,  and  it  is  much  easier  to  believe  great 
things  about  strangers  far  away  than  th.e  inmates  cf 
our  own  homes.  His  brothers  believed  that  He  was  a 
prophet  of  the  Lord;   but  how  exceedingly  difficult  for 


446  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Aposths. 

them  to  believe  that  their  own  brother,  Jesus,  with 
whooai  they  had  been  brought  up,  was  really  the  Lord's 
Messiah,  the  Eedeemer  of  Israel,  and  the  Shiloh  of 
prophecy.  And  when  they  cruelly  killed  Him,  it  broke 
the  hearts  of  His  loving  brothers,  who  said,  "Alas! 
Alas!  our  brother  was  a  mdghty  prophet,  but  He  ven- 
tured too  far,  gave  His  enemies  the  advantage,  and  they 
have  killed  Him !"  But  when  He  arose  from  the  dead 
and  flew  up  to  heaven,  they  fell  and  rolled  on  the  earth, 
leaped  into  the  air,  shouting  uproariously,  "Well,  after 
all,  our  dear  brother  is  the  Christ,  for  whom  patriarchs 
and  prophets  have  been  looking  four  thousand  years  !'^ 
Then  they  fell  in  with  a  tremendous  boom.  It  is  said 
that  one  of  the  Jameses  was  the  brother  of  the  Lord, 
and  Judas,  the  brother  of  James,  involving  the  conclu- 
sion that  both  James  and  Judas  became  apostles.  A 
problem  arises  here  as  to  which  James  wrote  the  epistle 
that  bears  his  name,  and  which  one  was  pastor  of  the 
Apostolic  Church  at  Jerusalem.  He  could  not  have 
been  James  the  Elder,  because  we  read  of  him  through- 
out the  Book  of  Acts,  whereas  James  the  Elder  was  be- 
headed in  Ch.  12.  The  Armenian  church,  which  is 
third  numerically  and  influentially  at  Jerusalem,  the 
Greek  being  first  and  the  Latin  -second,  holds  the  Apos- 
tle James,  the  first  pastor  at  Jerusalem,  in  about  as 
mnch  sanctity  and  reverence  as  the  Catholics  do  Peter. 
The  Armenian  convent,  said  to  accommodate  18,000 
pilgrims  at  a  time,  is  the  largest  building  in  Jerusalem. 
It  stands  on  Mt.  Zion  and  is  very  m^agnificent.  In  it 
my  guide,  during  both  of  my  visits,  led  me  to  the  sep- 
ulchre in  which  they  -say  the  head  of  James,  which  Her- 
od cut  off,  is  buried.     A  red  light  burns  there  all  the 


The  Apostles.  447 

time.  My  guide  also  pointed  out  to  me  the  tomb  in  Mt. 
Olivet  where  he  said  the  bodK'  of  the  same  Apostle 
James  was  buried.  There  seems  to  be  a  conflict  in  the 
matter,  as  they  hold  that  James  the  Elder,  whom  Herod 
beheaded,  was  the  Jerusalem  pastor.  Amid  all  the  com- 
plications, the  facts  better  harmonize  with  the  hypothe- 
sis that  the  Jerusalem  bishop  was  James,  the  brother 
of  the  Lord,  promoted  -to  that  honor  because  of  his 
brotherhood  to  the  Christ  of  God;  and  that  the  same 
James  wrote  the  epistles, 

JuDE  (John  14:22)  was  one  of  the  original  twelve. 
You  find  his  name  in  the  catalogue  (Matt.  10).  The 
translators  changed  his  name  from  Judas  to  Jude,  in 
order  more  clearly  to  contraddstinguish  him  from  Judas 
Iscariot,  who  had  brought  disgrace  on  the  name.  He 
is  also  called  both  Thaddeus  and  Lebbeus.  In  the  par- 
tition of  the  world,  Jude  received  Tartary,  a  great, 
old,  heathen  eountr}^  contiguous  to  China,  as  his  field 
of  labor.  He  went  to  it,  peregrinated  through  and 
through,  preaching  the  gospel  with  .the  Holy  Ghost  sent 
down  from  heaven,  till  the  people  became  so  enraged 
against  him  that  they  tied  him  up  to  a  tree  and  shot 
his  body  full  of  arrows,  thus  enjoying  a  shooting-match 
in  the  cruel  martyrd>om  of  this  faithful,  flamnig  herald 
of  gospel  grace.  His  epistle  is  short,  but  full  of  fire, 
lightning  and  dynamite. 

Andrew  was  a  brother  to  Peter,  and  the  son  of  Jo- 
nah, and  second  to  John  in  becoming  a  disciple  of  Jesus. 
He  received  Armenia,  in  Central  x\sia,  for  his  field  of 
labor.  He  traversed  it  to  and  fro,  preaching  like  a  mes- 
senger from  heaven.  They  finally  crucified  him  on  a 
transverse  cross-  in  the  shape  of  the  letter  X.     Conse- 


448  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

quently  the  Roman  Catholics  have  always  called  the  X 
St.  Andxew'^'S  cross. 

Bartholomew  is  identical  with  Xathaniel,  being 
frimply  a  patronymic,  i.  e.,  a  name  tal^en  from  tliat  of 
the  father,  very  common  in  ancient  times.  Bar  means 
son;  Tolmy  was  the  name  of  his  father.  Hence  they 
called  him  Bartholomew,  which  means  tho  son  of  Tolmy. 
His  N.  T.  record  is  grand  and  extraordinary,  as  Jesus. 
on  sight,  saluted  him:  "Behold,  an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
whom  there  is  no  guile,''  thus  showing  him  up  a  faith- 
ful "Son  of  xlhraham,  actually  enjoying  the  sanctified 
experience  (negative)  in  the  0.  T.  dispensation.  Doubt- 
less he  and  Mary  were  grand  inspirations  among  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty  disciples  praying  those  ten  days  for 
the  Pentecost,  as  they  fortunately  had  preceded  them 
into  the  N.  T.  experience.  Bartholomew  received 
Phrygia,  a  yqtj  ancient  heathen  country  in  North  Cen- 
tral Asia,  for  his  field  of  labor.  His  faithful,  straight, 
clear,  Holy  Ghost  preaching  eventually  stirred  up  such 
an  awful  animosity  that  the  king  ordered  him  to  leave 
hi'S  country  forever.  On  Ms  failure  -to  obey  tiie  royal 
mandate,  the  haughty  monarch  got  so  awfully  mad.  that 
he  ordered  his  officers  to  have  him  skinned  alive.  In 
this  way  that  guileless  Israelite  and  faithful  apostle  of 
Jesus  laid  down  his  life  amid  cruel  knives  cutting  and 
tearing  his  stin  from  his  writhing  and  convulsing  body. 

Philip^  like  Peter  and  Andrew,  was  also  a  native 
of  the  city  of  Bethsaidia,  on  the  North-west  coast  of 
the  Galilean  Sea,  about  eight  miles  from  Capernaum, 
the  headquarters  of  our  Lord's  ministry,  and.'  the  home 
of  Peter  and  Matthew.  He  receives  Syria,  whose  capi- 
tal is  Damascus,  for  his  field  of  labor.    Baalbec,  in  that 


The  Apostles.  449 

country,  situated  in  the  Valley  of  Beca,  between  Mt. 
Lebanon  and  Mt.  Antilebanm,  was  the  celebrated  me- 
tropolis of  universal  idolatry,  said  to  be  the  city  found- 
ed by  Cain,  when  he  left  home  on  account  of  murder- 
ing his  brother.     When  I  contem^plated  its  wonderful 
superstructure,   which   no   power   on  earth    today   can 
build,  I  became  really  credulous  of  the  tradition  which 
certifies  that  it  was  built  by  antediluvian  giants  in  the 
use  of  the  mastodon,  an  antediluvian  animal,  larger 
than  the  elephant,  which  has  never  been  on  the  earth 
since  the  floods     Baal  is  the  soin  god,  which  first  won 
the  he^irts  of  nature's  simple,  faUen  children,  and  held 
them  four  thousand  years.     The  Tem/ple  of  the  Sun  at 
Baalbec,  in  magnitude,  beauty  and  artistic   skill,  ha^ 
been  the  wonder  of  the  ages.     Many  other  magnificent 
temples  are  there  enclosed  by  the  gigantic  walls  of  the 
citadel,  impregnable  by  invading  armies,  and  entered 
only  through  one  subterranean  passage  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  long,  and  erected  for  the  protection  of  the 
gold  and  silver  they  gathered  from  the  ends  of  the  earth 
and  piled  up  there  as  offerings  to  their  gods:   e.  g.,  gol- 
den images   of  their  gods  the  size  of  a  gro^vn  man. 
When  Philip  came  thither  and  dared  to  preach  against 
their  pompous  and  magnificent  idiolatr)^  you  are  not 
surprised  that  they  cruelly  put  him  to  d^ath,  remorse- 
lessly crucifying  him. 

Simon  Zelotes.  He  is  also  called  Simon,  the  Ca- 
naanite,  which  is  a  wrong  ta-anslation.  The  Canaanites 
were  heathen  aborigines  oif  tli^  Holy  Land,  and  repro- 
bated to  destruction  for  iiieix  wickedness.  He  was  not 
a  Canaanite,  but  a  Jew.  The  primitive  meaning  of  the 
word  is  the  same  as  zelotes,  involving  the  conclusion 


450  Life  of  Jesus  and  Ills  Apostles. 

that  he  was  a,  zealous,  enthusiastic  preacher,  full  of  fire, 
lightning  and  dynamite;  i.  e.,  a  red-hot  holiness  crank. 
Historic  tradition  sa3^s  he  received  Insular  Europe  for 
his  field  of  labor;  i.  e.,  England,  Ireland,  Scotland  and 
Wales.  In  that  case,  we  Americans  ought  to  be  moving 
cj'Clones  of  celestial  fire,  having  such  a  spiritual  pro- 
genitor, as  you  know  we  nearly  all  came  from  those 
countries.  America  is  but  the  expansion  of  Europe. 
While  Paul  is  the  apostle  of  all  Europe  and  America, 
Simon  Zelotes  is  the  specific  Anglo-Saxon  apostle. 
Faithful  to  his  trust  and  his  field  of  labor,  like  his  com- 
rades in  all  other  lands,  dispersed  to  tihe  ends  of  the 
earth,  he  fought  valiantly  till  bloody  death  crowned  him 
with  the  martyr^s  wreath  and  permitted  him  to  exchange 
the  hattlefield  for  the  Mount  of  Victory. 

Thomas,  tiiei  ekronic  doubter,  sitood-  at  the  opiposiite 
pole  of  .the  battery  from  Pe«ter,  Hie  entbusaa^t.  The  lat- 
ter was  the  quickest,  and  tJie  former  tiie  slowest  of  all. 
But  the  fires  of  Pentecost  'burnt  up  all  the  cranky  fanat- 
icism of  Peter,  and  lugubrious  doubts  of  Thomas,  who 
was  as  proverbial  for  looking  on  the  dark  side,  as  was 
Peter  for  always  showing  up  the  bright  side.  Thomas 
was  slow  but  sure.  You  find  a  man  who  holds  back 
with  hesitating  doubts ;  keep,  your  eye  on  that  man.;  see 
him  once  get  a  sunburst  from  heaven,  sweeping  away  all 
his  doubts,  and  you  will  find  him  henceforth  filled 
with  aggressive  energ^^,  and  more  than  a  match  for  the 
devil.  Thomas  received  India,  the  largest  country  in 
the  world,  for  his  field  of  labor.  Histtory  says  that  he 
not  only  went  to  it,  traveled  through  and  through, 
preaching  the  gospel,  but  that  he  traveled*  through  Per- 
sia and  went  away  to  Ethiopia.    Some  think  that  Thom- 


The  Apostles.  451 

as  was  really  more  abundant  in  labor  than  Paul.  Final- 
ly bis  work  in  India  spread  and  multiplied  so  as  ix) 
arouse  the  jealousy  of  the  Brahman  priests,  who  saw 
that  Christianity  would  ruin  tlieir  religion,  consequently 
they  pursued  him,  ran  a  cruel  iron  bar  through  his 
body,  and  hung  him  up  between  two  trees.  Though  the 
Mohammedan  wars  overran  that  country  and  killed 
every  Chrisitian  that  would  not  turn  Mohammedan,  yet 
when  the  missionaries  from  America  and  Europe  went 
to  India  two  hundred  years  ago,  they  found  quite  a 
sprinkle  of  people  there  who  called  themselves  the 
Christians  of  St.  Thomas,  certif}dng  that  they  had  been 
in  that  country  ever  since  the  apostle  Thomas  had 
preached  there. 

Matthias  was  elected  to  take  the  place  of  fallen 
Judas  Iscariot  (Acts  1).  He  received  Eastern  Africa, 
now  Abyssinia,  as  his  field  of  labor,  responded  promptly, 
went  nobly  to  his  work,  labored  faithfully  till  bloody 
martyrdom  permitted  him  to  join  his  comrades  beyond 
the  stars. 

Baenabas  was  also  an  apostle,  so  recognized  in  the 
Scriptures.  He  was  a  native  of  Cyprus,  a  large  island 
not  far  from  the  Asiatic  coast.  His  record-  is  very  beau- 
tiful, so  far  as  we  have  it.  He  drops  out  of  history 
when  he  and  Paul  separated  at  Antioch,  amd  we  hear  no 
more  of  him. 

Apollos  was  also  an  apostle  and  the  sensation  of  the 
apostolic  age  for  his  eloquence.  He  was  a  native  of  Al- 
exandria, Egypt,  distinguished  for  his  learning,  orator- 
ical ability  and  fluency  of  speech,  and  believed,  as  I 
think,  with  good  reason,  to  be  the  author  of  the  Epistle 
to  the   Hebrews,   which   is  imputed  to  Paul,  but  has 


452  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

neither  his  autograph  nor  his  st^'ie,  which  is  true  of  all 
the  Pauline  Epistles. 

The  number  twelve  throughout  the  Bible  is  repre- 
sentative of  Grod's  child'ren,  because  they  are  the  multi- 
plication of  divinity  and  humanity;  four  representing 
the  latter^  as  man  is  lord  of  the  world,  which  is  repre- 
sented by  the  four  cardinal  points,  North,  South,  East 
and  West;  while  three  represents  Divinity,  Father, 
Bon  and  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  the  pertinency  of  the 
twelve  apostles,  the  dispensational  successors  of  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  While  these  numbers  have  their 
significance  in  the  divine  economy,  yet  there  is  nothing 
mechanical,  rigid  and  arbitrary  in  the  plan  of  salvation, 
where  all  things  are  spiritual  and  pre-eminently  free 
and  elastic,  because  homogeneous  with  -the  Holy  Ghost. 
"Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty.'' 

'The  idea  that  the  apostolic  office  was  restricted  to 
the  twelve  is  a  mistake,  as  that  would  exclude  Paul, 
Barnabas,  Apollos,  Mark,  Luke  and  James,  the  Lord's 
brother  who  was  even  promoted  to  the  episcopacy  of  the 
mother  church.  Some  who  are  sticjvlers  for  the  number 
twelve  admit  Paul  as  the  legitimate  successor  of  fallen 
Judas  Iscariot.  This  is  a  mistake  as  Matthias  was  duly 
elected  to  fill  that  place.  He  had  been  with  the  Lord 
during  His  entire  ministry.  He  expected  the  apostle- 
ship  vacated  by  Judas,  and  received  the  sanctifying  bap- 
tism with  the  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Faithfully  he 
went  far  away  to  Abyssinia  and  took  great  Eastern 
Africa  for  his  field  of  labor;  preached  heroically  and 
sealed  his  faith  with  his  blood.  The  entanglement  re- 
sults from  the  effort  to  confine  the  apostolate  to  the 
original  twelve,  which  is  unscriptural.    The  word  apos- 


The  Apostles.  453 

tie  simply  means,  one  sent  forth,  i.  e.,  practically  a 
pioneer^  as  it  was  the  prerogative  of  these  men  to 
pioneer  the  gospel  in  all  the  earth.  The  word  is  not  at 
all  exclusive,  and  shouldj  not  be  so  construed. 

David  Livingstone  became  the  apostle  of  the  Lord  to 
great,  dark  Africa  in  1840,  and  preached  to  the  savages 
thirty-three  years,  wheal  God  took  him  to  heaven,  rais- 
ing up  Bishop  Taylor  to  suceeed  him  in  his  apostolic 
office.  John  Eliott,  in  the  d'a}^*  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers, 
was  very  legitimately  denominated  the  Indian  apostle, 
accepting  God''s  appointment  to  pioneer  the  gospel 
among  the  wild  mea  of  this  continent. 

APOLOGUE. 

(a.)  The  vicarious  atonement,  wrought  by  the  Son 
of  God  when  He  died  on  the  cross,  gives  the  pillars  of 
the  great  salvation  superstructure,  girdling  the  globe 
and  containing  mansions  for  all  the  lost  children  of 
Adam. 

(b.)  Since  the  constancy  of  apostasy,  Satan  has 
made  a  tremendous  effort  to  capture  the  Church  through 
a  compromise  with  the  world,  raising  up  platoons  of 
false  prophets  in  every  land.  Hence  the  transcendent 
pertinency  of  writing  the  biography  of  Jesus,  and  of  do- 
ing our  utmost  to  concentrate  the  attention  of  all  people 
on  Him  alone,  endeavoring  thereby  to  fortify  them 
against  the  constant  and  diversified  ilitrigues  of  the  ene- 
my. 

(c.)  Since  the  Lutheran  Eeformation,  which  broke 
the  chain  that  hound  the  world  to  an  intriguing  priest- 
hood and  liberated  the  human  conscience  from  that  su- 


454  Life  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles, 

perstitio-us  awe,  which  saw  in  the  pope  the  vicar  of 
Christ  and  the  vicegerent  of  God,  there  has  been  a  pow- 
erful trend  toward  indiscrimin'ate  schism,  developing 
into  hundreds  and  thousands  of  sects  and  denomdna- 
tions,  bewildering  the  people  by  their  constant  cries: 
'^Lo,  here :  this  is  the  way !"  till  millions,  dumbfounded 
and  perplexed,  stand  paralyzed  with  a  bewildering  am- 
biguity encompassing  them  with  a  soul-torturing  un- 
certainty. Hence  the  vital  importance  of  ringing  out  the 
primitive  gospel:  ^^Behold  the  Lamib  of  God  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  In  hopes  of  encour- 
aging the  people  to  study  the  beautiful  character  and 
soul-traneforming  gospel  of  Jesus,  this  commentary  has 
been  written, 

(d.)  There  never  was  an  age  in  all  the  world^s 
history,  when-  infidelity  was  so  rife,  strategic  and  ag- 
gressive as  at  the  present  day;  not  only  in  all  worldly 
circles,  but  under  tlie  cognomen  of  Christianity.  It  is 
preached  from  thousands  of  pulpits.  The  preaching, 
work,  and  life  of  Jesus  constitute  the  only  break-water 
against  this  growing  infidelity. 

(e.)  WTiile  the  Holinesis  Movement,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  contains  all  the  true  Christians  in  all 
lands,  yet  it  is  terribly  assaulted  and  invaded  by  all 
sorts  of  heresies;  some  preaching  water-god,  others  a 
day-god,  and  many  creed-gods  and  sect-gods.  Thus  Sa- 
tan is  laying  earth  and  hell  under  embargo  to  capture 
the  movement  as  her  predecessors  in  the  revival  field. 
The  only  citadel  into  which  Emmanuel's  soldiers  can 
fall  back  and  protect  themselves  is  the  creed  of  Chris- 
tendom, "Jesus  only."  Therefore,  in  order  to  cou trib- 
ute our  little  "all"  to  the  augmentation  of  the  study  and 


Tlie  Apostles.  455 

appreciation  of  tlic  substitutionary  atonement,  the  deep 
latitudinous,  longitudinous  and  altitudinous  preaching 
of  the  spotless,  self-denial  life,  the  triumphant  resurrec- 
tion and  glorious  ascension  of  Jesus,  we  ■  ave  written 
this  book.  So  now,  to  the  Holiness  People  in  all  lands, 
with  its  eighteen  preceding  volumes,  this  book  is  lov- 
ingly dedicated.  Showers  of  blessings  on  }X)u  all,  as 
you  read  the  Life  of  Jesus  axd  His  Apostles. 
(The  End.) 


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